Along came Emma
by Anne-Lilian
Summary: What if James Potter had a younger sister who suddenly decides to show up during Harry's third year? How would that change all the adventures? Starts midway in Harry's third year. NO pairings so far. I tried not to make it too OC, some characters might be a little OOC, but in a good way (I hope). Enjoy! and R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I haven't abandoned my other fics, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone... Anyway, takes place during Harry's 3rd year, starting in January. This hasn't been beta-ed, so any mistakes are mine!  
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**That said, enjoy! And review if you want me to update this.  
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Chapter 1

Everyone was enjoying their dinner in the Great Hall on a normal Saturday afternoon in January, when life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was very suddenly, and very loudly, interrupted.

A loud bang sounded from the entrance hall as the entrance doors where knocked against the wall. The noise was so abrupt, and so loud, that every other sound in the Great hall was cut short. Every student held their breath and looked at the door, through which a woman now stepped.

She had black curly hair, that cascaded down her back, and was in disarray, almost as if she'd just stepped off a broom after a Quidditch match. She wore plain blue jeans and a green long-sleeved t-shirt. She was short, not incredibly so, but definitely not bigger than 5'2.

"You!" she shouted, looking towards the teacher's table, and strode forwards, completely ignoring the two hundred students and 9 teachers, staring at her, nonplussed. "You meddling, old goat! Sirius Black escapes and you don't even think to send me postcard?!" she shouted angrily, still advancing on – what had now become clear – the headmaster. "Hello, how's the weather on the other side of the pond? Same as always here. Love, Albus Dumbledore. PS; the man who MURDERED YOUR BROTHER ESCAPED FROM ASKABAN!" she finished, coming to a stop in front of said man. "And don't even get me started on H-"

"Emma!" Dumbledore shouted, to the extreme surprise of most of the occupants of the Hall.

The dark-haired woman snapped her mouth shut, but continued to glare at the headmaster. Lupin was gaping open-mouthed at the girl, disbelief written all over his usually composed face. McGonagall, on the other hand, was staring at the woman with strangely teary eyes.

"Shall we continue this in my office?"

Jaw still clenched, the woman- now identified as 'Emma' – nodded, and followed the headmaster out of the hall.

Two hundred and nine eyes followed them as they advanced through the room, utter silence the most obvious sign of their shock.

Just as the duo was about the exit, Dumbledore turned around and addressed his students. "Please, continue with your meal and then return to your common rooms. Good evening." And with that, he left, taking the stranger with him.

/*/

While they walked through the Entrance Hall, Dumbledore pulled her inside one of the unused classrooms. "First things first: what would Lily have named Harry if he'd been born a girl?" Ah, there it was.

"Rose, she wanted to keep the flower tradition from her family alive," I replied, and Dumbledore nodded, now knowing I was indeed who I said to be.

"Follow me, please," he said and walked out the door, not waiting for my reply. He set off in the direction I had anticipated; to borrow some words from Tolkien: 'up, up, up the stairs we go'. As they walked up the marble staircase, the woman relaxed somewhat.

"Did you deliberately use my first name to shock me, or simply because you don't want Harry to know who I am yet?"

He looked at me from the corner of his eye, but continued on walking. "A little bit of both, but as it is, Harry has an extremely intelligent and perceptive friend, who has no doubt already figured it out."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes, before Emma felt the need to speak again. "I'm sorry for barging in like that, I should've gone to your office and not bothered your students. I was just so angry…" she trailed off, keeping her eyes on the floor in front of her feet.

"Quite alright, my dear, you know how gossip deprived my teachers and students can be, they need something to talk about."

"Yeah, talk it to death. By morning, I'll be your long-lost daughter, and Sirius Black will have five more victims on his list," she joked, hoping to lighten the mood. She glanced sidelong at him, and saw the tell-tale twinkle in his eyes that indicated his amusement.

"So Harry's alive then?" she asked in a little more timid voice. They were on the fourth floor now, she noted dimly.

"Yes, I'm sure you would've heard about it had you stayed in one place long enough. And now that we're on the topic, where _did_ you go?" he asked curiously.

Emma just shrugged. "Here and there. I started out in America, lay low for a couple years and lived like a muggle. Then I visited some of their magical institutes, like Salem and Vancouver."

"That's Canada, dear," he replied, the corner of his lips twitching upward.

"Whatever, same continent, besides, you can just walk over the border, it's almost like it's the same country anyway. After that I came back to England for a while, lived a little South of London, with an alias, but I didn't stay too long. I was afraid you'd find me."

"I though you had died, Emma, like everyone else did," he said evenly.

She snorted. "Oh please, you knew I hadn't died the mument you set foot in my apartment. And if you didn't, you've lost your touch," she said a little venomously.

This time, he stopped walking and turned to face her fully. "I never investigated, like I never investigated James and Lily's house."

She frowned up at him. "Why not?"

Dumbledore averted his gaze. "I was too painful. You and James were very close friends of mine, and when Alastor told me what he'd found… I didn't doubt him, I simply figured you another casualty of the war."

"You thought I'd really killed myself?" she asked, clearly shocked. Dumbledore didn't respond, but started up the stairs again.

An awkward silence prevailed as they reached the headmaster's office. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I thought you knew…"

"All in the past now, my dear," he said after he gave the gargoyle the password.

"Oh that reminds me," she said and pulled something out of her purse. It was a pink candy bag, about the size of her hand.

"Watermelons?" Dumbledore read off the packet in astonishment.

"I remembered you liked lemon drops, but these are my favourite. I picked them up during my time in Arkansas, in the States. "

He smiled warmly at her as he entered his office. Gesturing for her to pick a seat, he sat down behind his huge desk himself and helped himself to some of the pink, watermelon slice-shaped candy. "So where did you go after London?"

Emma picked the most floral and comfortable-looking chair in the office and smiled when she got it right: those where the most comfortable.

"Australia, for about five years, and I was almost persuaded to stay there, it's a marvellous country, professor, you'd love it if you didn't sweat to death in your robes first," she joked. "I travelled some in Europe after that, and then back to the States last year, and here we are."

"Here we are, indeed," the professor murmured, almost inaudibly.

They sat in a comfortable silence for about two minutes before Emma got restless. She got up and perused his bookshelf, but got bored with that fairly soon too. She turned to the headmaster, about to ask a question, when she noticed he wasn't behind his desk anymore.

He had made his way over to his fireplace and was now having a conversation Emma could only hear one half of. "Minerva, be so kind as to locate Mr Potter and ask him to come to my office?" he asked. "No, I don't think that will be necessary." He waited for another second and then gave a reply. "Yes, Minerva, it's really her, and no, she was never dead. It seems she fooled everyone."

Another reply from McGonagall that I couldn't hear later, and Dumbledore pulled his head out of the fire. "And now, my dear, I believe you wanted to know why I told you Harry had died with his parents?"

Emma sat up a little straighter in her chair and faced the older man with a determined expression.

**A/N: Tell me what you think! Btw, I made Harry a little more playful, and Sirius will definitely be playing a bigger role in the story, if I decide to continue this.**

**Review!  
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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi! I'm updating early, I couldn't wait. I'll try to update weekly (if not more often)  
Thanks for the people who favourited and alerted this!**

**I need a beta for this, anyone interested?  
**

Chapter 2

Harry had no clue what was going on. First that strange woman appearing in the Great Hall and yelled at Dumbledore, and now he was being called to his office? He'd asked professor McGonagall, but, as he should have expected, she said that was between the headmaster and him. So, he'd followed her in silence to the headmaster's office, and went in alone, after she'd given the password. He suddenly felt inexplicably nervous. He hadn't done anything wrong that he could recall, and the only other reason he could think of that Dumbledore would want to see him was because of something involving either Sirius Black or Voldemort.

As he arrived at the door to the office, he heard quiet talking that stopped abruptly as he raised his hand to knock.

"Come in, Harry," Dumbledore's voice floated through the door before he could bring his hand down.

Harry walked in. "How do you do that?" he asked, a little exasperated. He couldn't recall anyone ever having to knock on the professor's door; he always invited them in before they had a chance to.

"Please don't answer that," a voice came from the most floral armchair in the office, and it sounded decidedly like a – rather feminine – groan. "If he's anything like his father, he'll take that as a challenge," the woman finished.

Stepping closer, Harry could make out her shape curled up on the couch, and recognised her as the woman from the Great Hall.

"You knew my father?" he asked eagerly, quickly sitting down in the chair next to the woman.

She smiled wryly. "You could say that."

"Harry, I'd like you to meet Emma Potter, your aunt," Dumbledore said, interrupting anything the youth might've said.

His _aunt_? But he only had one aunt, and this woman was most certainly _not_ Petunia Dursley. _'He said Potter, though, so she must be my father's sister, but that's impossible, he had no siblings as far as I know,'_ he thought. "I don't have an aunt other than aunt Petunia," he said intelligently. The woman's face turned angry again, but she wasn't looking at him. _'Good thing too, she looks almost as frightening as Mrs Weasley does when she's angry.'_

Dumbledore lowered his head, as if in shame. "That's where you are wrong, Harry. I simply instructed no one to tell you about her, to spare you the pain. And it was a little known fact that James had a little sister," he explained.

"He didn't even know about me! I was prepared for 'but I thought you were dead', not this!" the woman – Emma – shouted. "I can't believe no one's even mentioned my name!" Harry could tell she was hurt, and felt a strange need to comfort her. _'She's family after all.'_

"Why don't you tell him the story, you know it better than I at any rate," the headmaster said, soothing the woman with those words – though only slightly.

She glared at him for another second, before turning back to Harry with a grin. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Hello, my name is Emmeline Johanna Potter, and if you ever laugh at my name or call me that, I will hang you upside-down for a week," she said conversationally. "I was born five years after my precious prat of a brother and we'll skip over my rather boring pureblood youth, and fast-forward to my first year at Hogwarts. The reason not many people remember James Potter having a little sister was because after that year, my parents, your grandparents, pulled me out of school and-"

"What were their names?" he asked suddenly. He hadn't even realized he'd said something until she stopped talking to stare at him.

"Harold and Katherine… how come you didn't know that?" she asked, looking at him strangely.

He shrugged, a little defensive. "No one ever told me," he answered truthfully.

Emma's face turned suddenly sour and she turned towards the headmaster again. Holding out an accusing finger, as if she wanted nothing more than to poke him – really hard – she glared at him. "You and I are going to have a _long_ talk after I get reacquainted with my nephew."

Dumbledore held up his hands in surrender, and looked strangely sincere in doing so.

"Now where was I?" she mumbled, turning in her seat again. She seemed to change moods a lot.

"They pulled you out of Hogwarts?" Harry supplied.

Her eyes brightened. "Right! They pulled me out of school and had a private teacher come to our house and educate me – our house was unplottable, so it was probably one of the safest places in Britain. James was sixteen at the time, and a real arrogant ass, if you'll forgive the language. Don't get me wrong, he was the most wonderful brother in the world, but the way he acted around other people, I could tell. Plus, I did have a year at Hogwarts to see the destruction some of his pranks could wreak. Anyway, he improved a lot during that year. I think it was partly because of the increasingly dangerous war, and partly because of Lily, your mother. She refused to go out with him, even though he kept asking for about a year, and he wasn't used to rejection. The year after that, his seventh, he finally convinced her to go, and they became a couple. That's when I got to know her. She was the sweetest, smartest, and most short-tempered person you could imagine, and I still don't get how my adoring, idiot brother managed to snag her."

"Were they happy?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

Emma smiled and reached over to squeeze his arm gently. "Yes, for four years they were really happy, and then they had you, and the boys and me had to declare them officially the happiest people in the universe." She smiled softly, her eyes far away as she recalled the memory. "You should have seen James' face, he couldn't stop grinning for at least two weeks after he heard the news."

"Who's the boys?" Harry interjected again. He hoped she didn't mind him asking questions, but judging by the sad smile on her face, she didn't. "Remus, Peter, and… Sirius. I guess you've heard all about that by now. The funny thing is, I had the biggest crush on Sirius back then, I thought he was amazing. I didn't want to believe it when Remus told me what he'd done. You have to understand, though, Harry, seeing them together nearly every day… they were closer than brothers, and I even got jealous sometimes. I still can't believe it, even after all these years. And then Peter a martyr? Never would've pegged him for it… Oh, darn it, I'm sitting here telling the saddest story in my book, I'm sorry, Harry," she apologised, her face perfectly matching her words.

"No, it's fine. It's nice hearing it from someone who actually knew them, since professor Lupin won't talk about it…"

She perked up. "Remus is here?"

"You missed him? He was sitting at the teacher's table," Harry replied.

Emma smiled sheepishly. "I was a little busy shouting at a certain headmaster."

And then she went on to tell him about the year before the tragedy happened, including all the stories about Sirius. Harry was a little surprised to hear that Alice Longbottom had been his mother's best friend, since he'd heard virtually nothing about his mother before this. After she ran out of stories, Dumbledore suggested Harry show her around the castle, and aunt and nephew decided to play a game of twenty-questions.

"So how about your friends?" she asked her ninth question.

Harry smiled, as they walked across the third floor corridor. "Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, they're the best. Ron knows everything there is to know about Quidditch, and has never lost a fair game of chess, and Hermione's probably the smartest person I know, though she can be a little…"

"Overly studious?" Emma supplied, grinning at him.

"Yeah, I know she means well, and she's a great friend, but it can get a bit much sometimes."

"I understand, your mother got that way sometimes. Not often, mind you, but she took her studies seriously. But when she had you, she quit her education to stay home with you. She wanted to be a medi-witch."

"Why did you fake your death? Or rather, why didn't you actually do it?" he asked his tenth. They had already covered the fact that she had three questions ago.

She took a deep breath and seemed to think about it for a second. "I thought about it, but I – like Dumbledore, and a lot of our allies back then – didn't believe Voldemort had actually died the night you defeated him. By the way, I do believe you now hold the record of youngest person ever to defeat a Dark Lord. Anyway, I believed he'd come back some day, and I'd be damned if I let my entire family's sacrifice be in vain. I faked my death because neither evil, nor good would look for a dead man – or woman in this case. I didn't spend my twelve years idly, Harry, I've been studying, learning everything I can to better protect myself. Plus, even though I was sorted into Gryffindor, I was a coward Harry; when faced with the choice, I just couldn't do it."

Harry remained silent for a while and absently pulled aside a tapestry and went up the hidden staircase.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Impressive, I don't think James knew about this one," she commented, following him up.

He glanced over at her nervously. "Oh, it's just on this map I have."

Emma smiled at him. "If this is the map I think it is, it has a low level telepathy field, Harry, the boys added that because they were too lazy to physically change it every time they found something new. It just picked it up from your brain, that way it can keep growing. It's also how it knows who to insult when you don't know how to handle the map, and how."

Harry stared at her in wonder. "How did you know about the map?"

She laughed outright this time. "I have my resources," I said with a grin.

His hand drifting down to the pocket of his jumper where it was most likely folded up, but it was almost as if he didn't realize he was doing it.

"Have you never asked Remus about your father? They were friends, you know," she asked curiously as they emerged from the staircase, apparently thought a wall.

"I don't think he's had that much time to talk lately, he's been looking sick," Harry said, but he couldn't quite keep the bitter tone out of his voice.

"I'll have to pay him a visit too, then, but we've strayed off topic. I've thought of a tenth question."

She asked him about the family he currently lived with, and went into a five-minute rant when she heard his stories, and a well-aimed hex made a nearby suit of armour explode. Harrymanaged to calm her down by making her focus on their game. He asked her about some of the things his father and his friends liked to do. She told him all about his father's pranking history.

Harry noticed that though her voice would sometimes grow bitter or sad when talking about Black, the picture she presented didn't match at all with the screaming and scowling picture of him he'd seen of him in the paper, and even less with what he'd done. Harry also asked why Emma had thought he had died, to which she replied that Dumbledore had told her that because he was afraid that she might steal Harry away, or try to fight for custody, which would negate the protections he'd placed around him.

Eventually, they got to the entrance to the Gryffindor tower – where Sir Cadogan now resided – and Harry said the password so they could both get in. A glance at his watch told him it was way past curfew. When he entered he was ambushed by a bushy haired girl first, the rest of Gryffindor second.

"Are you alright?"

"Who was she?"

"Did you meet her?"

"Is she an auror come to look for Black?"

"_Who_ was she?"

"Did she fight Dumbledore?"

"_She_ can answer questions herself, thank-you-very-much," Emma said angrily, glaring at the crowd in general. "And shouldn't you all be in bed? It's past midnight, or should I call for professor McGonagall?"

Most of the crowd dispersed towards the dormitories, though there were some stragglers, and some who even tried to hide.

Emma ignored them, though, and plumped down into one of the seats near the fire. She sighed blissfully and sank into it a little deeper. "I love being an adult. You can order kids around and they will – mostly – do what you tell them. Plus, I don't think I've ever sat in one of these chairs before. Ickle firsties usually don't get that privilege."

Harry joined her, followed by a red-haired boy and a bushy-haired girl. She regarded them for a second. "So you must be chess wonder extraordinaire Ron Weasley, and you are 'smartest-person-I-know Hermione Granger? Nice to meet you," she said cheerfully, jumping up, and extending a hand. "My name is Emma Potter, Harry's long-lost-and-thought-to-be-dead aunt." A few gasps sounded from the stragglers, but Emma paid them no heed. It was bound to come out sometime, seeing as she was going to try to get custody over Harry back. _'First have to get myself declared alive again, though, and knowing our system, that might take a while…'_ she thought to herself.

Redhead and bushy-girl stared open-mouthed at me. "It's a really nice impression of Venus flytraps you're doing, but you might want to close up, I think I can see your lunch from here."

The girl recovered first. "But how can that be? I thought Harry didn't have any family left, aside from the Dursleys."

I smiled. "Let's just say I was a pretty well guarded secret. But I'm sure Harry will give you a much better explanation. I just wanted to get in here to protect my nephew from the bombardment of questions he had to face, and to see the inside of this room again, it's been nearly twenty years after all."

She looked around the room again, taking in all the impressions, before turning back to the trio, one of which still looked rather dumbfounded, one confused, and another amused as hell. "I'll see you in the morning, Harry, sleep tight," she said, and, repressing the urge to crush the thirteen-year-old to her and giving him a kiss on his forehead, she turned on her heel and climbed out of the portrait hole. She could just hear the girl's – Hermione's – shrill voice demanding a better explanation. But Emma had other things on her mind now, she had a certain professor to find, she had a feeling she knew what he was teaching…

**A/N: Forgot to do the disclaimer, so here it is: Harry Potter's not mine (otherwise Sirius wouldn't have died!), and some of the dialogue and descriptions were shamelessly copied from my fiend Mary's copy of 'The prisoner of Azkaban'.  
Oh, and all mistakes are mine, since I don't have a beta yet.**

**Review!  
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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sooo, I'm hoping that if I update this soon, I'll get some reviews?**  
**Btw, I know I said there'd be no pairing for now, and there probably won't in this fic, but I will be hinting at one, and probably will put it in in the sequel to this.**

**Enjoy!  
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Chapter 3

She had been planning to yell, she really had, but after she'd stormed into his office, she didn't even have a chance to open her mouth before Remus was crushing her in a hug. "I thought you'd died," he whispered in my ear, and with those few words, she'd come undone, and had sobbed like a little girl in her sort-of big brother's arms. She had apologised and had offered an explanation, which Moony gladly listened to.

After another two hours talking to him, Emma had planned to go find Dumbledore and give him a piece of her mind, but Remus had convinced her that three in the morning really wasn't all that decent of an hour for her to be bothering the headmaster. Of course, Emma couldn't let that one go by, so she'd started whining that she didn't _bother_ people, she was 29, after all. And that had just set the both of them off, laughing like crazy people (which, in all honesty, they really were).

She ended up sleeping on his couch, having declined his bed – it had taken physical strength to get Moony to not give up his bed, but he needed it more than her, his last full moon hadn't been that long ago.

Soon, Emma drifted off to sleep, not even bothered by Remus' light snore drifting in through the open bedroom door.

/*/

**Emma POV, 1****st**** person**

The next morning was a Sunday, so everyone had plans to sleep late. Unfortunately for a certain visitor in the castle, those plans were about to get disturbed.

I started as someone knocked on the door. It took me a mument to remember where I was, and another debating whether or not to ignore the knocking. Eventually, I decided to get up and open the door.

The one doing the knocking had been a small mousy-haired boy, with huge, exciting looking eyes. He'd delivered a message for 'Emma Potter, ma'am, is it really true you're related to Harry Potter?' He'd reminded me a little of a house elf, except that a house elf would never ignore an order. I told him that yes, I was Harry's aunt and then I told him to get back to breakfast. Instead, he kept standing there, staring open-mouted at me, so I just closed the door in his face.

Remus walked in through his bedroom door, looking to me as if he was more asleep than awake. "Who was it?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"Just some first or second year, he was asked to deliver this," I said, holding up the folded piece of parchment the student had handed me. "It's from Dumbledore," I said, opening it. "He's asking me to meet him in his office after breakfast, and to please do join everyone for breakfast. I think he's hoping to have a big announcement about who I am, but I don't agree. From talking to Harry yesterday, I gathered that he really disliked the limelight."

Remus hummed, looking under the dresser in the living room area to look for something. "Yes, I'd noticed that too. He's very bright, though, and very eager to learn, especially if he respects the professor. I think he's top of his class academically, if not theoretically, that would be Hermione Granger."

I smiled at that. "So he's not a troublemaker like his father?" I asked lightly, finally noticing a slipper sticking out from under the couch, and guessing that's what he was looking for.

"On the contrary, I believe, while he doesn't always watch his mouth when provoked, especially by Draco Malfoy and professor Snape, he is very well mannered, and an excellent student. Though I have reason to believe miss Granger is the only reason he gets all of his homework finished in time," he said with a wry smile.

I took pity on him and handed him the slipper, before claiming the bathroom first. The little sister has privileges after all.

/*/

At breakfast, Harry was still debating whether the events of the previous evening were a dream or not, despite his friend's reassurances. He vaguely noticed Colin Creevey running into the hall and saying something at top speed. He wasn't paying attention until the name Emma Potter fell. He turned to the closest member of Colin's group, which just happened to be Ginny Weasley.

"What is he on about?" he asked, tapping her on the shoulder.

She looked at him and blushed a little, not as much as she would've the previous year, but still. "He had to deliver a message to that woman who was yelling at Dumbledore yesterday, and it turns out her name's Emma Potter, family of yours?" she asked, interrupting herself.

"Yeah, she's my aunt, what about her?"

"Well, it seems she slept in professor Lupin's quarters, and she opened the door wearing men's pyjamas and looking rumpled. If you ask me, they just want something to gossip about," she said, shrugging.

The comment aside, Harry noticed a certain air of sadness hanging around the youngest Weasley, and couldn't help but wonder if she was still bothered by what had happened the previous year. As soon as her words sank in, though, he was mildly disgusted. Though he didn't know either of them very well, it seemed to him he had to be a little disgusted that his aunt was sleeping with his professor. It was just gross.

"I didn't know you had an another aunt," she said so softly, he almost missed it.

"Yeah, me neither until yesterday," he replied and turned back to his breakfast. Hermione was still complaining about Ron's eating habits, so neither of them had noticed his conversation.

For the first time ever, Harry allowed himself to drift into a fantasy, though. He _hadn't_ known he had an aunt, a _magical_ aunt, so surely she had more claim over him than aunt Petunia? What if he never had to return to the Dursleys again? What if he could live with Emma now, and have friends over, and not have to worry about 'freakishness' happening?

Just as he thought about that, two figures entered the hall, and whispered conversation broke out all over the room. As Harry looked up and saw Emma and professor Lupin strolling in talking animatedly, he grimaced again. Professors weren't supposed to have personal lives, that would be like McGonagall being married, or Sprout having a hobby other than gardening, it was just _wrong_. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he did realize that professors probably weren't the robot-like creatures he hoped they were, but he at least didn't want to see any of it.

They walked straight to the head table, and aside from Emma's wink to him, they showed no interest in disturbing him during breakfast. There was a little commotion when Hagrid spotted her, though, since he got up and enveloped her in a bear hug that would've left a normal person with at least one broken bone. She talked to him for a few seconds, conjuring a tablecloth-sized hankie for him when he started tearing up. She moved down the line of teachers, briefly talking to McGonagall and Flitwick before sitting down on the extra chair next to Lupin.

As Harry watched them, he didn't think they acted like they were any more than what they appeared to be, and he didn't think he'd ever seen the professor smile that much. At one mument, Emma even pushed his head down into his cereal, to the great amusement of anyone in the Great Hall that had witnessed it. A miniature food fight ensued, while the other professors merely erected magical shields to avoid the stray food.

"I like her," the twins said in unison, sitting not too far from Harry. He rolled his eyes and turned back to watch his aunt, only to laugh when he saw that Lupin had tied a white handkerchief around a spoon and was waving it around, signalling his surrender.

Harry had never seen adults act like that, and he idly wondered if living with Emma would be that fun. Then he scolded himself mentally, there was no reason to think she'd _want_ to take him in. Maybe she just wanted to be in his life, but that didn't mean she necessarily wanted to become a parent all of a sudden…

After breakfast was over, Emma stopped by his table and told him she had to talk to Dumbledore some more, but she'd come to the common room to pick him up after that. She'd grinned at him and told him she had a surprise for him.

**A/N: Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I promised some of you I'd update today, so here it is! Though I'll try to update semi-weekly from now on (Wednesdays & Sundays). Thank you so much to The Elo, Irunin, Doclover and ILikeComps for reviewing!**

**Irunin: I promise I won't abandon this, I've finished almost the entire story, so it would be kinda pointless anyway. Thanks for your review!  
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**Disclaimer: some of the dialogue and descriptions come straight from the book, and of course Harry Potter belongs to JKR (too bad... I wouldn't've let Fred die ^^)  
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**Enjoy y'all!  
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Chapter 4

After I saw Dumbledore leave, and I'd talked to Harry, I made my way to the headmaster's office. You'd think that a 29-year-old wouldn't feel like a naughty child for being called to the principle's office anymore, but with Dumbledore, even an old grandma would feel like a child when looking in his eyes, if he wanted you to. Squaring my shoulders and telling myself I had no reason to feel this way, it wasn't like he could expel me anyway.

I was about to knock on his door when he bid me to enter, and I quietly agreed with Harry. How _did_ he manage to do that?

Shrugging, I entered and sat down in the same chair I had occupied the previous day. "So what did you want to talk about?" I asked curiously. I still wanted to scold him, but I figured that could wait for a later date.

"I believe the reason you came back here is so you could take custody of Harry?" he asked, for once not speaking in riddles, and not running circles around the point for ages.

"Yes," I replied simply, I figured he'd explain himself soon enough.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he said softly.

"And why not? He's mine by right. A magical child with a living, not imprisoned, magical relative is automatically transferred to their custody. I studied this before I came here, you know," I said defensively.

"But, for one thing, you are not officially alive yet."

"Something I will correct when I leave tonight. I'm going to get Potter manor ready to be used again, and I'll go to the ministry to get myself declared alive again," I explained carefully, stomping down on the anger I felt coming back to the surface.

"For another thing, you'd hurt Harry more than you'd help him by taking him away from his relatives-"

I interrupted him. "Excuse me? _I'm_ his family, Lily's sister never even wanted to admit she still had a sister, never mind caring for her son! Have you ever bothered to ask Harry is he was happy there? Because he told me he isn't. They might not have beaten him, but they neglected him to the point of near-starvation. Why do you think he's so small?" I was shouting now, having gotten up from my chair.

Dumbledore seemed shocked for about a tenth of a second, before he composed himself. "Please, sit down, miss Potter, I was talking about the blood protection wards around his house."

"Don't even try to use that against me, you know as well as I do that Potter manor is unplottable, and has some of the strongest wards available, and I'm the only secret-keeper. He'd be safe there, and he'd be able to actually contact his friends and have a semi-normal life, which is al he wants."

Dumbledore folded his hands and leaned his elbows on his desk. He seemed to be thinking everything over.

"The way things are going right now, Harry will never be able to do what he is meant to do. He needs to be self-confident, and he needs to learn more than you can legally teach him at this school," I reasoned, sitting back down. "And, quite frankly, I think he needs someone to spoil him a little, and to love him like his parent's would've. Sirius and I were his godparents, and since Sirius can't really take care of him for obvious reasons, I should get him. Please, Albus," I begged, using his first name on purpose. "Think about Harry. I know you care about him."

Dumbledore looked up at me, and I could see the conflict in his eyes. He still thought Harry would be safer with Lily's family, but he _knew_ he'd be happier with me. Finally, he sighed in defeat. "I should've known you wouldn't give in that easily, and you're right, it is only your right to take Harry away."

I smiled. "I'm taking Harry out for lunch, is that okay?" I asked, hoping he'd let me.

"Naturally, where do you plan to go?"

"I think I'm just going to take him out in London and then walk around Diagon alley for a while, you know, bonding."

Dumbledore nodded, and I stood up, getting ready to leave. "Miss Potter?"

"Please, professor, call me Emma, you make me feel old, calling me that."

He smiled. "Then you may call me Albus."

"What did you want to tell me?"

"Just be careful, and remember that Sirius Black is still on the loose," he cautioned me.

I nodded. "Of course, pr- I mean Albus. I'll have him back by three… ish," I corrected myself with a grin, knowing myself, we'd probably be later than that anyway. "Oh, and can we use the fireplace in the kitchens?" I asked.

Dumbledore gave me permission, and I went to get Harry, it would be a fun afternoon.

/*/

"No, really? You actually drove a flying car to school?" I asked incredulously as we ate our Sundaes at Florian's. Harry' seemed to be friendly with the proprietor, and I was addicted to ice cream, so we'd decided to get some desert.

"Yeah, we nearly crashed into the train as well, and then when we finally got to school, we hit the Whomping Willow, and barely escaped with our lives. I think the car still lives in the forest, to be honest," he said, a huge grin on his face. I was glad he was having a good time, and he was doing a good job of ignoring the stares the few shoppers here gave us. Grimly, I realized it must be experience.

After sitting in a comfortable silence for a few seconds, I decided to brooch the subject I had been wanting to tell him about.

"So living with the Dursleys is not too much fun, huh?" I asked casually.

"Not really, every summer I look forward to spending a month at the burrow with Ron and Hermione."

"What if I told you you'll never have to go back there again?" I asked seriously, putting down my spoon.

He stared at me for a second. "You mean…"

I smiled and nodded. "If you want to, of course."

"Yes!" he shouted, probably not even caring that he did. "I wasn't sure that- but yes, definitely!" he said, and I beamed at him. It would be good for the both of us not to be alone anymore.

After that we walked around Diagon Alley some more, and drooled over some of the Quidditch supplies at Quality Quidditch Supplies, which lead to Harry telling me he'd gotten a Firebolt from someone, but that McGonagall had taken it away to make sure it wasn't cursed. I grinned at him sullen tone and lead him inside the shop.

"I'd like the latest Nimbus model, please," I told the clerk behind the counter. He looked at my small stature sceptically, but complied with my request. I signed what amounted to a wizarding check and walked out of the shop with my new broom.

Harry, along with a lot of small kids that had been gawking at the Firebolt, was staring at me. "You bought me a new broom?" he asked incredulously.

I rolled my eyes, he was James' son, alright. "No, I bought _me_ a new broom. I'm just lending it to you until you can get that Firebolt back. There's one condition, though," I said, handing him the broom.

He took it from me warily. "What?"

"I get to ride it over the summer too, and we'll see who the better seeker is, deal?" I asked, grinning broadly.

He grinned right back. "Deal," he said and shook my hand.

We walked back to the Leaky cauldron in relative silence, Harry revelling over his Nimbus 2002 like he'd never seen one before. He probably needed some time to wrap his mind around the fact that he had a family member no one had ever told him about, who was about to take him away from his horrible relatives.

When we got there, I told him he wouldn't see me for a while because I had to get myself declared alive again, but that he could always send Hedwig with a letter, or even just a short note. "I expect to be kept up to date about your schoolwork, or I'll write Hermione. And if there's anything, and I do mean _anything_, you can tell me, even if it sounds silly. We're family Harry, and I'm here for you to whine to about unfair professors and too much homework and stupid Slytherins, and this bloody cold that won't go away, got it?" I asked, lightly pushing at his shoulder.

He smiled at me, but there was something behind it, like he was holding back tears or just really touched. I couldn't stop myself, I pulled him into a hug, and, though he stiffened at first, he quickly relaxed and returned the hug, if a little uncertainly.

I sent Harry back on his way to Hogwarts and went to the nearest apparating spot myself. I felt good. Harry was a great kid, and not spoiled at all. He was smart and easy to talk to, he definitely resembled his father, but there was plenty of Lily in him too, a little more, personality wise, I thought.

I apparated right outside the Potter property, and walked over to the wrought iron fence. It seemed like it guarded an empty field, but as I stepped through the gate the mansion became visible. It looked like it grew out of the ground, and I couldn't help but smile. I remembered being awed every time I saw it happening when I was young.

The mansion wasn't huge, but it wasn't small enough to be called a house either. Aside from the ground floor, it had only one more storey on top, which is where most of the bedrooms where. The ground floor had an entrance hall, a kitchen, dining room, library, my father's old study, a living room and a music room, a building at the back of the house held an indoor swimming pool and indoor Quidditch pitch. James had loved that building even more than he loved his room (which was far larger than mine, I might add).

I unlocked the front door, and grinned at the irony. The mansion had five different wards, and a fidelius charm placed on it, and my father had still insisted on normal, muggle locks. He always lost his keys, though, and then had to use his wand to open it, which I thought was just the funniest thing when I was a teenager. As I opened the door and stepped into the marble hall, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of homesickness and grief over their deaths. Mum and dad had died in the space of eight months of each other when I was thirteen. Dad died of some form of cancer, and mum had just willowed away. I remembered James being so angry with her for not caring anymore.

I'd been reading a book in a corner in the library with a flashlight when mum and James had walked in – or, rather, James had walked in and had dragged mum with him. He had then proceeded to yell at her for not caring about me anymore, for giving up. He was just seventeen at that point, and was about to start his auror training. I had closed my book to listen, careful not to make any noise. She had whispered something back, but I hadn't understood. "She's twelve, mum, she needs you! She all she's got, I'm only seventeen, Lily and I aren't ready to take care of a child. What am I supposed to do?" He had sounded so desperate I'd been tempted to crawl out of hidey hole and give him a hug, but I stayed where I was.

"You'll be fine, James, you're a good person, and Emma is strong, she'll survive this, and she'll be all the stronger for it." I could barely remember a time that my mother's voice hadn't sounded feeble, even when dad was still alive and battling with the disease, she'd receded into herself.

"Mum!"

"I've provided for both of you, and arranged all my business, James, there is nothing left for me here, you don't need me-"

"But your daughter does! She's just a child!"

"James," she admonished, and for a second, she had sounded like she had before. "I meant that you don't need me to tell you how to live your life, and I'm confident that you'll take care of your sister."

"Maybe if you'd let me send her to Hogwarts…"

"No! She wouldn't be safe, swear to me you'll keep your sister safe, James."

James had sworn that he would and had sent me off to the Salem Witches' Institute in Massachusetts, USA. That was the main reason I fled there after I faked my death, I still had some friends there who I could stay with the first few months. During the summers of my school career, I went back home, and spent them mostly with Lily and Alice.

I sighed as I continued on in the house. I'd have to get a house elf eventually, there was no way I could maintain a house this big by myself. I couldn't cook anyway, or not very good.

I started out by just walking through the house. Most of the furniture was covered with white sheets, which gave the place an abandoned feeling, but I could still remember arguing with James in the kitchen, playing tag with my brother, opening Christmas presents in the living room, tasting my first champagne in the dining room, painstakingly learning how to play the piano in the music room… Eventually, I ended up in the library, and found what I'd most looked forward to see. "Hello mum, dad," I said to the painting.

**A/N: Review! Btw, what do you think about the slight changes I made in Harry's personality?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, and everyone who favorited and alerted! I changed my mind about semi-weekly updates, and will try to update every day. **

**So enjoy it while you can, because I'm almost finished with this ^^  
**

Chapter 5

Harry had just told Ron and Hermione everything about his rather unexpected afternoon. Ron thought it was 'bloody brilliant', Hermione, while still happy for him, was a little more hesitant.

"Well, you don't really know her that well…" she argued, a worried frown on her forehead as she absently petted Crookshanks. Part of him thought that the only reason Ron and Hermione weren't agreeing was because they loved arguing with each other so much, but he kept that opinion to himself.

"Harry!" a familiar voice shouted. Wood came running their way. "You missed Quidditch practice! Where were you?" He seemed really angry, and Harry felt instantly guilty for not even remembering they had practice that afternoon.

"I'm sorry Wood, I went to lunch with my aunt, I forgot," he replied truthfully.

Wood frowned, his anger temporarily forgotten. "I thought all your relatives were muggles?" he asked.

But before he could respond, Ron had already taken it on himself to explain. "It's his long-lost aunt from his dad's side, she was the one yelling at Dumbledore yesterday."

Wood's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Strange… Anyway, I talked to professor McGonagall…"

Wood told Harry that she would keep the broom as long as was necessary, and that she was angry with him for not caring about Harry's wellbeing.

Harry tuned him out after he heard what he needed to hear.

/*/

Dear Harry

How are you? Quidditch and school are still keeping you busy, I suppose? How are your friends? Say hi to them for me.

It's taking longer than I thought to get myself declared alive again: British bureaucracy at it's best. They won't believe I'm alive, even though I'm standing right in front of them. I've been subjugated to a multitude of tests by both healers and aurors.

Luckily, getting the house back in order is going far smoother, and I'm grateful for it.

How are your patronus lessons going? Remus told me about those, I hope you don't mind? Are you sure you have enough time to do everything for school?

Love,

Emma

/*/

Emma,

It might be stressful and busy, but that's nothing compared to Hermione's workload. She has more classes than she has time for, literally. She has some classes at the same time as others! Ron's been trying to figure it out, but I don't really care, it's her life, right?

Yes, Quidditch is keeping me busy, Wood's upped our training schedule to six nights a week! Which leaves me with one night to do all my homework, but so far I'm coping.

I'm sorry to hear about the bureaucracy thing, do you think it'll be resolved before the summer starts?

I don't really mind, I'm sure by now the entire school knows I'm taking those lessons. I still haven't managed to cast a good patronus, but at least I don't faint every time anymore. Professor Lupin says that's a good sign.

And like I said, so far I'm managing, I'm sure I'll be fine.

Harry

P.S.: What house?

P.P.S.: Professor McGonagall still hasn't given my Firebolt back, and the match against Ravenclaw is getting really close. Can't you write her, or something?

/*/

Dear Harry,

To answer your first question: the house your father and I grew up in; Potter manor, you'll see it this summer, I'm sure of it. Even the British don't take _that_ long.

As for your second question: as you (future) legal guardian I can ask her what has been done and what she's planning to do, and yes, I can force her to give it back to you immediately¸ but she's right: I'd rather not see you thrown off that broom fifty feet in the air again. Right now, I'm a little more concerned about your health.

At least you still have my Nimbus 2002. It might not be as good, but you told me yourself you didn't want another broom until your Nimbus 2000 broke, and you won plenty of games on that one. It's the Seeker, not the broom (unless it's a comet, or cleansweeps, or one of those other school brooms, those are just awful).

Love,

Emma

P.S.: I'll definitely be able to make it to the Quidditch game, and I might even visit a little sooner. Maybe I can get you out of Divination some day?

/*/

Dear Moony

Maybe you should let Harry practice the shape of his patronus without the boggart sometimes? I know that's what worked for me, at any rate.

How are you?

Love

Emma

/*/

Emma,

We have a manor?

I guess you're right, and I realize that, but I can't help it; it was mine for a few glorious hours until Hermione told McGonagall… Why do adults always have to be sensible anyway?

Please get me out of Divination! If I didn't have to take at least two electives, I'd have dropped that class long ago. I don't think one lesson has gone by without Trelawny predicting my untimely death. It's getting really annoying.

Harry

P.S.: I forgot to ask you, but can you sign my permission slip to go to Hogsmeade? This is the first year we're allowed, and uncle Vernon wouldn't sign it.

/*/

Dear Emma,

That might be a good idea. He's making good progress, even though he doesn't see it yet. At least now I don't think he'll fall and break his neck, or worse, if the dementors show up again.

I think he's been sneaking into Hogsmeade somehow, though. I gave him a butterbeer, and he recognised the taste. Any clues as to why?

I'm not fantastic, my monthly problem is still as much an issue now as it was back then, I'm just grateful for Snape's… help.

How is your legal quest going? If you need any help, I'm just an owl away.

Remus

/*/

Harry

Yes, we have a manor. We are so you kids won't have to be. And yes, I've signed it (though if professor McGonagall will accept it is another matter, I'm not your legal guardian yet), it's enclosed in the envelope.

Love,

Emma

/*/

Emma

I got it back! McGonagall finally gave me my Firebolt back; nothing wrong with it. I'll give you your broom back after the match.

Rona and Hermione aren't speaking anymore, though: her cat ate his rat.

anyway, see you soon!

Harry

/*/

I arrived at Hogwarts early Saturday for Harry's Quidditch game. It felt tremendously strange to suddenly have a teenager under my care (however unofficial it was at the moment), and to have to be there for sports games, and to encourage him to do his homework. It wasn't a bad feeling, really, but I'd been on my own for quite a few years now.

Idly, I wondered it my friend Carrie from Salem felt this way: she already had two kids of her own.

I had flooed to the kitchens so at least I wouldn't have to pass any dementors or do any stairs, but it seemed Harry had beaten me to breakfast. I could barely make him out behind all the admirers who wanted to hold his new broom.

When I finally got there, he was talking to a blonde Slytherin, but didn't seem to happy about it, judging by the scowl on his face.

"Aren't you at the table, young man?" I asked politely, casually coming to stand next to my nephew.

The blonde – flanked by two rather unintelligent-looking goonies – and had the audacity to look down his nose at me. "And who do you think you are?" he asked haughtily, obviously convinced he was better than me.

I raised an eyebrow, who did this little punk this he was? But anger wouldn't solve this…

I put on my best bimbo smile and stuck out my hand. "Hi, my name is Emma!" I said in a disgustingly perky voice.

The boy – his face seemed really familiar for some reason – was thrown off balance, and didn't reply. His goonies simply stared straight ahead.

I rolled my eyes and withdrew my hand. "And I'm also an adult, here to visit my nephew, so if you don't mind, you can get your peroxide ferrety face out of my way, so I can sit with him," I said in a normal voice, and lightly shoved past him so I could sit at the Gryffindor table. Harry sat down next to me, and, encouraged by my questions about the firebolt, ignored the blonde.

"Nice one, Emma," he said quietly once the boy had left, his cronies trailing behind him.

I smiled at him, and claimed a plate for myself, I'd skipped breakfast in order to get here on time, so I was ravenous. "Wow, you eat almost as much as Ron," Harry said, eyeing my plate. The redhead in question looked up as well. It occurred to me that their other friend, Hermione, wasn't there.

I shrugged in response to his comment. "I didn't eat dinner yesterday. Where's your other friend?" I asked to the two boys.

Ron's face darkened. "Her cat ate my rat," he muttered darkly.

I raised an eyebrow in Harry's direction, who shrugged in response. "So I hear. What do you know about cat, Ron?" I asked politely, taking another bite from a piece of toast.

The redhead frowned. "I don't know, they're predators, pretty independent, I suppose…"

I smiled at him. "True, and what do you think would happen if your friend had locked it in her room?"

His frown deepened, and he stared at his plate. "I don't know."

"It would've gone mad, being restricted like that, and I think Hermione loved her cat just as much as you loved your rat. She didn't set her cat on your rat on purpose, did she?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Just think about it, Ron, she couldn't have helped it. Even if she'd locked her cat in her dorm room, it would've found a way out, I think you said it might be part Kneazle, Harry?" I asked, turning to my nephew. He nodded.

"I'm not telling you you have to forgive her on the spot, but you might go a little easier on her, okay?" I said, and changed the subject to the upcoming match.

We chatted until the teams had to leave to get changed, so I accompanied Ron and Lupin, who fell in step beside us.

"Good morning, _professor_," I said, grinning at him. Ron mumbled an excuse and sped off toward some other Gryffindor boys.

He smiled back, ignoring the slight jibe behind my words. "I like it, you know, being a teacher. I prefer some classes over others, like my sixth year Hufflepuff and Gryffindor class is particularly talented, or even Harry's class, which is with Slytherins. As cliché as it sounds, I love seeing their faces light up when they learn something new."

I bumped my shoulder into his – which was quite a feat, since he was almost a foot taller than me. "Come on, teacher-boy, let's get going, I don't want to be late to the game."

**A/N: Please review! Because reviews are like puppies and rainbows and unicorns; they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside ^^**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So, as I promised: chapter 6! Thanks to ILikeComps, Doclover, futureauthor62, and leafstone for their reviews on chapter 5, I hope you'll enjoy chap 6 just as much!**

Chapter 6

Unsurprisingly, Gryffindor won the game, though the other seeker was also very good. There was a scary moment, though, when three hooded shapes walked onto the field, but it didn't get any colder, and I still felt cheery, so it couldn't be dementors, but Harry didn't know that. When he noticed them, he simply pulled his wand out of his shirt – I really needed to get him a wand holster – and cast a perfect patronus, my throat closed up a little as I realized it was a big stag. Harry didn't bother watching it chase off the would-be dementors, though, but went straight for the snitch. As madam Hooch whistled the end of the match, I was screaming as loudly as any student.

Remus and I ran down to the field almost the moment Harry's fingers closed around the fluttering golden ball, and got there only a little after most of the Gryffindor house. I forced myself through the crowd and pulled the star of the hour into a hug.

"Bloody good flying, Harry, I think I want to forfeit our match over the summer, there's no way I can beat that, especially not if you fly on that broom!" I said, smiling broadly. Harry grinned back, but was soon engulfed in cheering Gryffindors again. Somehow Remus made it through and managed to tell Harry about his patronus, and show him that it had only been a prank played by some Slytherins – I noticed the blonde was one of them and made a mental note to ask someone who that was.

After that, the Gryffindors quickly made their way to the tower, cheering and shouting all the way. Ron's older twin brothers soon brought in food and drink that they had no doubt gotten from the elves in the kitchens.

The students didn't seem to mind – or notice – that I was at the party, probably since I was drinking and having fun right along with them. It lasted until well after midnight, when McGonagall came to break it up. I hid behind a couch so she wouldn't see me. After she left, I sat down on the couch. Harry bid me a good night, and I realized I should probably make my way over to Remus' chambers. But first, I'd just close my eyes for one second.

/*/

I awoke with a start as someone screamed. I was instantly awake and jumped to my feet. My eyes were drawn to movement on the stairs to the boy's dormitories. A man was rushing down, a man that, even in the dim light of the dying fire, I would recognise in an instant.

"Sirius?" I breathed, stepping into his path. He stopped instantly.

"Emmers? But you're dead…" he whispered, almost to himself. I felt a stab of annoyance as he used my old nickname.

My eyes flickered to the stairway he'd just descended, that scream had definitely been a teenage boy. "If you've hurt one hair on his head, I will find you and kill you myself!" For some strange reason, I was whispering.

He half-smiled at me. "You're definitely real, my imagination isn't that good." We could hear footsteps on the stairs now, and Sirius tried to sidestep me, but I wouldn't let him. "I'm sorry, Emmers," he said, and before I could do anything else, he'd decked me in the face and had scampered out of the portrait hole.

He hadn't hit me hard enough to knock me out, but it had knocked me off my feet, and it bloody well hurt! I let out a long stream of obscenities, most of which, I was ashamed to admit, I'd learned from the man who had just hit me.

"Emma?" a familiar voice said, confusion lacing his voice. I looked up. A pair of green eyes met mine.

"Harry!" I got to my feet, ignoring the stared the rest of Gryffindor gave me. "Are you alright?" I asked worriedly, quickly checking him over.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, eyeing my jaw. Great, I probably had a bruise already. "Ron says he saw Sirius Black," he said, his gaze sweeping over the common room.

"I know, who do you think decked me?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "'Decked you'?"

"So I picked up some slang in America, will you get off my case?"

A redhead I thought must be another one of Ron's brothers stepped forward. "Don't you think we should alert someone? Sirius Black was in the castle! In our dorms! The professors might still be able to catch him!" he declared.

"You can go get McGonagall if you'd like, but there's no use. Black knows this castle better than anyone, by now he's probably out of the castle's wards and has apparated to safety," I said, and looked Harry over again. "You're sure you're not hurt?"

"Now really, enough's enough!" Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait behind her as she entered the common room and stared furiously around. I hoped that if I didn't turn around she wouldn't notice me; I wasn't that tall, after all.

"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"

Ah, so that was the other redhead's name. "I certainly didn't authorize this," he said, puffing himself up indignantly. "I was just about to tell them all to get back to bed. My brother Ron here had a nightmare-"

'_Oh, so now all of a sudden it was a nightmare? Why is he completely ignoring what I said earlier?'_ I thought to myself, but still resisted the urge to turn around.

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yelled. "Professor, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how-" she started, but I interrupted her.

"I saw him too, professor, he hit me square in the jaw before running off. He's long gone by now."

She stared at me. "But that's impossible, how could he have gotten in here?"

I shrugged. "Ask the portrait."

After questioning, Sir Cadogan informed us that Sirius Black had indeed entered, and that he'd had the passwords of the entire week, written down on a piece of paper.

"Which person," she said, her voice shaking, "which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"

There was utter silence, broken by the smallest of terrified squeaks. A pudgy boy, who looked to be about Harry's age, trembling from head to fluffy slippered toes, raised his hand slowly into the air.

McGonagall glowered at him, and the boy seemed to be trying to sink into the floor, so I took pity on him. Standing in front of him, I turned her attention back to me.

"Shouldn't you be informing professor Dumbledore there's a murderer on the loose in his castle?" I suggested, hoping she didn't think I was being too impolite.

She agreed, however, and turned to leave, but stopped in front of the portrait hole. "You should get Poppy to look at that," she said, indicating my jaw.

I grimaced. "Can't you do it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly! You're a grown woman by now, there's no reason to be afraid of hospitals!" she said, throwing her arms up.

"But I don't _like_ them," I mock-whined, and pouted to complete the picture.

"You'd think you'd have gotten over that fear after almost fifteen years."

"It's all James' fault, he ruined me at a young age."

She smiled wryly at me. "Still blaming things on your big brother, I see?"

"Always," I replied, grinning back.

She left after putting a light healing charm on my jaw, and I promised to say with the Gryffindors and not let any of them leave.

I tried to persuade some of them to leave, but, since that didn't work, I asked if anyone wanted to play a game of exploding snap. Ron was still a bit too shaken, but Harry and some of his classmates could tell what I was doing and played a game with me.

Eventually, a bunch of first years fell asleep on the couches while a tournament of exploding snap was going on. I'd even persuaded Percy to be the score-keeper.

They were just forgetting the horrible events of the night, and really getting into the game, when McGonagall came back – it was close to dawn by then – and informed everyone that the search of the castle and the grounds hadn't turned up anything. She left, advising us all to get some sleep, but we stayed where we were, a little stunned.

"I know this is a really bad moment to say this, but…" I subtly flicked my wand at the scoreboard, "I think I won."

Heads snapped to the board and a pair of outraged voices cried: "Oy! We were in the lead!"

"Yeah, you were way at bottom!"

"Cheater," someone shouted, the laugh in her voice was clearly heard.

Harry threw a pillow at me.

Needless to say, none of us slept anymore that night.

/*/

I remained in the castle for the next few days – if Sirius could still get into the castle, there was no way I was leaving Harry. The security was tightened to a ridiculous level, and the worst part was that I knew it wouldn't help, and I was still strangely reluctant to say anything about it. Neville was banned from going to Hogsmeade for the foreseeable future, though I'd tried to talk McGonagall out of it. At least I managed to get her to reduce the number of detentions to one. Harry was sulking because he'd also been forbidden to go (not by me, I didn't think it would be likely that Sirius would attack in broad daylight with all those people around).

I was talking to Moony about it on the day of the Hogsmeade weekend. We were simply walking through the castle, enjoying the quiet now that all the third years and up were gone.

"Do you think we should tell anyone?" I asked, referring to both Sirius' animagus form and the passageways out of the castle.

Remus frowned. "I don't know… I've been debating that question ever since he broke in the first time. I honestly didn't think he'd try to get in here, too many people."

"You know how he was, he loved a challenge…" I said, thinking back to the carefree Sirius Black I'd known all those years ago. Remus seemed to be contemplating the same thing.

"Yes, I remember. I remember being that way myself a few years ago… People change."

I raised an eyebrow. "No you haven't, you became a teacher for god's sake, what's more challenging than that?" I joked, hoping to lift the mood.

He smiled, and I considered it a victory. "I really did miss your company, Emma. It was… lonely, with everyone gone…"

I smiled sadly. "Biggest regret, right there," I said, poking him lightly in the chest. "If I could've let you know, I would've, but I wasn't sure if you'd tell Dumbledore," I admitted.

"It's alright, Emma, I understand."

I was about to reply when the blonde Slytherin – Draco Malfoy, I now knew – came running through the doors of the entrance hall and went straight down to stairs to the dungeons. A second later, his goonies followed, far more out of breath than their leader.

"What do you reckon that's all about?" I asked, not waiting for an answer as I followed them into the dungeons. They arrived at Snape's office, and I could just make out the name 'Potter' and 'Hogsmeade' before it became obvious they were about to go out to find him. Remus and I sprinted back down the hallway and ran up the stairs to the entrance hall, where we split up without even having to discuss it. I really hoped I'd find Harry first.

**A/N: I'll update again tomorrow! Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Special thanks to ChopSuzi for all of her reviews, to all of my HP fanfics. Also a big thanks to all of my other reviewers, of course!  
I don't own HP, yadda yadda yadda, enjoy!**

Chapter 7

As it turned out, we didn't find Harry first, because I found him in Snape's office not five minutes later.

I stood outside the door, listening to the professor talk about my brother's attitude. I stood there long enough to hear him talk about the time Sirius had nearly caused his death, before I walked in.

"Professor Snape, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't fill my nephew's head with lies."

Both student and teacher looked startled at my entrance, and at what I'd said.

Snape recovered first. "Lies, miss Potter? I wouldn't dare."

"It was Sirius who played that prank on you, my brother didn't know about it, he was with me at the time, or had you forgotten I was at Hogwarts too, back then? And look at what became of Black, did you really expect more from a death eater like him? But then, you would know, wouldn't you?" I said coldly, fixing my patented death glare on him. Snape stared back, not troubled in the least, dealing with Voldemort would do that to you.

"Oh, really?"

"Did you forget that James didn't speak to Sirius for three weeks after that incident? My brother didn't get cold feet, professor, he heard about it and stood up to his best friend to save the life of someone he despised."

Snape clenched his teeth and continued to glare at me.

"Are you quite done with my nephew now? I'd like to return to cheerier parts of the castle," I said, not taking my eyes off the man.

"Of course," he said in a sickly sweet tone. "But if Mr. Potter was with you, you wouldn't mind him emptying his pockets, would you?"

I saw Harry glance at me, and realized he really didn't want to do it, but I had no choice. "Do it, Harry," I told him quietly.

He pulled a Zonko's bag and a familiar-looking old piece of parchment out of his pockets. "Ron gave them to me, he brought them back from Hogsmeade last time-"

"Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How touching… and what's this?" Snape asked, picking up the map.

"Spare bit of parchment," Harry said with a nearly blank face. _'Good liar, that kid,'_ I thought.

"Surely you don't need such a very _old_ piece of parchment?" he said. "Why don't I throw this away?" His hand moved toward the fire.

"No," Harry and I said, not quite in unison, but close.

"I got that for Harry, as a late Christmas present. It just insults everyone who tried to read it, I got it from a joke shop in Salem," I said, knowing what the map would do it you tried to read it from experience. It had called me an annoying, interfering little _girl_.

"Does it now?" he asked, clearly not convinced. He tried a few spell on it, which didn't reveal anything, until he made the mistake of saying his name.

The map went on to insult Snape's appearance, personal hygiene, and intelligence, all so professed by Messrs. Moony, Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail.

"I changed the original names on it for Harry's benefit," I said quickly, before Snape could comment on it.

"How sentimental," he drawled, an angry scowl still on his face. Then again, I was starting to think that was just his regular face.

Right on cue, Ron came bursting into the office. He was completely out of breath, and stopped just short of Snape's desk, clutching the stitch in his chest and trying to speak.

"I – gave – Harry – that – stuff," he choked. "Bought – it… in Zonko's… ages – ago…"

"Well," I said cheerfully, that explains the bag, doesn't it? I'll take this, though, I told you not to use it on professors," I told Harry and took the map from Snape's fingers. "Harry, Ron, why don't you come with me, I need to tell you boys something – excuse me, professor," I said, and towed the boys out of there, without a backwards glance.

"Emma, I-" Harry started once we were far enough away from the dungeons.

"I don't want to hear it, Harry. You went to Hogsmeade, even after you were expressly forbidden to do so," I said, my worry making my words harsher than I meant them.

"But you said yourself-"

"I know what I said, Harry, but that doesn't give you the right to just sneak off like that! I didn't know where you were! You could've been expelled! You're my responsibility now, and I know you're not used to someone caring, but I care! And I don't want you to get hurt."

Harry and Ron both looked rather ashamed of themselves at this point, and I figured I could let them off easily. "I'll keep this for now, Harry," I said, tapping the map. "Now get back to the common room. If anyone asks, you were with me all afternoon, got it?" I asked.

Harry smiled hesitantly, he knew he'd gotten off easy, but he also knew not to try it again, now.

I pulled him into a brief hug, unable to resist. "Come on, off with you," I said, and apparently didn't need to say twice, they ran off towards the seventh floor.

/*/

"Harry was with us all afternoon, got it?" I told Remus as I entered his office.

"You found him, then?" he asked. I told him the whole story.

After thoroughly discussing the matter over a cup of tea – Remus was far angrier at Harry's sneaking out than I had been – we sat in comfortable silence for a while.

"I'm leaving tonight," I told him. "I'm keeping you from your work, and Harry from his school work, and I still need to get my affairs in order, so I can legally take custody of Harry back. And the manor is almost finished, I just need to re-do my room, and redecorate Harry's new bedroom. I'm giving him James', by the way," I explained.

Remus nodded, he had probably expected this. "I'll certainly miss your liveliness around here," he said.

"Don't worry, Moony, I'll be back," I promised and gave him a hug.

He grinned. "I don't doubt you, I just pity the fool who'd get in your way."

/*/

Dear Emma,

Hermione and Ron finally made up, which had made life a little easier for all of us, it's just too bad it had to be under these circumstances. Hagrid's hippogriff, Buckbeak, was sentenced to death because Malfoy didn't know how to handle one, and got his arm cut up a little. Hagrid's inconsolable, but Ron and Hermione are confident we can find some sort of loophole for the appeal. I'm not so sure…

The workload is getting heavier by the day, and with Quidditch practises I barely have time to eat!

The animosity between the snakes and the Gryffs is also at an all time high, there have even been some fights in the hallways. Don't worry, Wood's made sure I'm always surrounded by a huge crowd of people, though it _is_ making me late to my classes…

I can't wait 'til the match! I've never been this determined to win, and it's mostly to make Malfoy pay for what he did to Buckbeak, and for trying to sabotage me at the last game.

I hope you're doing better than I am?

Harry

/*/

Dear Harry,

It was about time! Are those two always so stubborn? I'm sorry to hear about Hagrid's pet, I always liked him…

Of course you have more work, June is drawing near (can you hear the dramatic music, here?) and your teachers want you to be as prepared as you can be.

Be careful Harry, I want Gryffindor to win as much as anyone, but try not to bait any Slytherins, they're not really the forgiving type, so, even if you think you got away with something, it might come back to haunt you.

I have some bad news: I'm afraid I can't make it to the game, I'll try, of course, but I have an appointment with a ministry official (finally), and that's the only time I can… I'm so sorry!

I'm good, thanks for asking. I finished my room at the manor, and I put some basic furniture in yours, you can decorate it any way you want when you move in there, so I promise it won't be too girly.

Love,

Emma

/*/

Dear Emma,

I know, and yes, they are.

Who, me? I would never! And I'm always careful!

Are you sure you can't make it?

Harry

/*/

"Sign here," the wizened ministry official said. If he would speak any slower, he wouldn't be talking at all.

I glanced at my watch. The game had already started, but I was hoping to catch the end of it.

They had at long last established that I was, in fact, who I said I was, and were finally finishing up the paperwork. I signed the form eagerly, stopped long enough to get my own copies of the documents, and barely heard the man's (slow) congratulations as I ran out of the office.

I got out of the (excruciatingly slow) elevators and ran into the Atrium… and promptly knocked someone over.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, picking myself off the ground and gathering my papers.

"No worries, it was an accident," the man said, picking up his briefcase. He was a thin man, and going bald, though what hair he had left was a bright red. On his nose perched wire rimmed glasses, and he wore long robes, that were a bit on the shabby side.

Once we were both up, the man held out his hand. "Arthur Weasley, pleased to meet you," he said cheerily.

"Weasley? Are you by any chance Ron Weasley's father?" I asked, shaking his hand.

He looked a little bemused. "That's one of my boys, yes," he replied, frowning lightly at him. He probably wasn't used to being identified by one of his children.

"Oh, were are my manners! I'm Emma Potter, Harry's aunt, I believe you know him?"

The man's – Arthur – eyebrows shot up. "Oh, yes, Ron wrote home about that. I'm _very_ pleased to meet you!" he said enthusiastically shaking my hand again. "Where were you off to in such a hurry?"

I smiled. "Hogwarts, I was hoping to catch the end of the game. Harry's been fretting over it for some time now." I looked at my watch. Considering the planning – Gryffindor had to be at least 50 points ahead – I could probably still make it. "Care to join me? I believe your twin boys are the beaters, right?"

Arthur looked torn. "I'd love to, but I need to get back to the office, I'm late as it is. But you must come by for tea some time, Molly and I would be glad to have you over! Any relative or friend of Harry's is welcome in our house," he said jovially.

"I would love to. I have to run now, but I'll try to send an owl sometime. Have a nice day," I said, already moving toward the fireplaces.

"You too! And please do!"

/*/

I arrived at Hogwarts through the fireplace in the kitchen again, and sprinted out of the castle, and got there just in time to hear the Gryffindor part of the stadium cheer loudly. It seemed Harry had just blocked some Slytherin players, so one of the Gryff's chasers could score. Which she did, as evidenced by the commentator's "SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!"

Harry made a beautiful, mid-air, 180 degree turn and zoomed back into the fray. The other seeker had begun a steep dive, and it took Harry a second to notice. He sped off at an impossible speed towards the tiny golden glimmer floating just above the field. For a second I didn't think he'd get it, but he gave one last push forward, and caught it!

I yelled, screamed and jumped right along with everyone else – barring the Slytherins, of course – but didn't run immediately to Harry's side, this was a moment to spend with his friends.

I walked over to a crimson rosette-covered Hagrid, and met Remus there. "Quite the match, huh?" he asked over the half-giant's sobbing, and the crowds mad cheering.

"I only saw the end, but what I did see was pretty spectacular," I said, grinning from ear to ear.

Harry was just being given the Cup, and he looked so extremely happy, and not at all like his father in that moment. "It's funny… I don't think I ever saw James look like that before his seventh year. He always had that arrogant glint in his eyes, Harry just looks… shocked, and happy," I commented, watching as the Gryffindor's took their hero on their shoulders. As they passed relatively close to where we were standing, I shouted: "I'm proud of you Harry Potter!"

He looked over and grinned at me, holding up the Cup. "God, I wish I had a camera," I muttered, just as I noticed a Gryffindor kid wildly taking pictures with an old fashioned-looking camera. "Be right back," I told Remus, and sped off toward the kid.

"Hey, can I borrow that for a moment?" I asked, and took it from his hands when he nodded, seemingly shocked at my sudden appearance.

"Oy, Harry, look over here!" I shouted, and snapped the photo when he looked over, the look of triumph and euphoria still present on his face. I noted with satisfaction that his two friends were in the picture as well.

I returned the camera to the kid – who introduced himself as Colin Creevey – and made him promise to owl me that one once he'd developed it.

"Are you planning on staying for a while again?" Remus asked, coming to stand beside me, looking over the crowd as it finally dispersed toward the castle.

"No, I have to go job-hunting, I might've inherited a lot of money, but I don't like living off of mum and dad's money. I also need to go to Little Winging one of these days, and get Petunia Dursley to sign over Harry's custody," I explained. "Tell Harry I'm sorry I couldn't stay if you see him, okay? Though I doubt that'll happen before tomorrow afternoon, if those Quidditch Cup parties are still the same as they used to be."

Remus grinned at me. "I'm fairly sure they are, but I'll give him the message."

**A/N: I hope you guys liked it, so you will review ^^**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: As a thank you to all of my reviewers: another (extra long) chapter!**

Chapter 8

When Arthur came home from work that evening, he was rather more excited than usual.

"Hello, dear, how was work?" Molly asked, as usual, while she made the pots scrub themselves in the sink.

"Well, I had a rather interesting conversation today."

"Oh, really? About what?" she asked, only mildly interested. Knowing her husband, it was probably about some new muggle thing he'd found out about. She turned back to her knitting: she had quite a few sweaters to make for Christmas next year.

"It wasn't so much the subject as it was the person, Molly dear. I – quite literally – ran into none other than Emma Potter, Harry's aunt."

Molly stopped dead. Harry's aunt? She remembered Ron writing home about it, but hadn't heard anything else about it since, so it had slipped her mind. "Really?" she finally managed to say. "What did you think of her?"

Arthur shrugged, sitting down next to her. "She was very nice, and even invited me to come watch the Quidditch game at Hogwarts with her, but unfortunately, I was in a hurry. I told her we'd love to have her over for tea sometime."

Later that night, Molly wrote a letter to her youngest son, asking him what he thought of Harry's new aunt.

/*/

Hello mum,

Yeah, Emma's nice, and Harry seems to like her a lot.

She calmed us all down when Sirius Black last broke into the tower.

Why do you ask?

Love

Ron

/*/

It was a week before I received another letter from Harry, and it troubled me a little.

Dear Emma,

What do you know about Grims?

Harry

Why would Harry ask me about this? Why not go to Remus, or just look it up? Every child raised by wizards knew about Grims, so even his friend Ron would've known.

'_Unless he hasn't told anybody else,'_ a voice that sounded suspiciously like James sounded in her head.

But why? I decided to direct that question at my nephew instead.

Dear Harry,

No 'how are you? I'm fine, the weather's great'?

A Grim is an omen of death, usually in the shape of a large dog-like creature, but I've never heard of anyone seeing one before.

Why do you ask?

Love,

Emma

I got the answer that same night.

Emma

I'm sorry, how are you? Is the manor ready yet?

I think I saw one, earlier this year. Several times, actually. Last two times I was it was right before the dementor came onto the Quidditch pitch back in November, and the night before the Slytherin match.

Does that mean anything?

Harry

'Does this mean anything indeed'. I sat in the library in the manor, reading the little note over and over again. I had a sinking feeling that what Harry had seen hadn't been an animal at all, but an animagus; specifically an animagus by the name of Sirius Black.

I had known about my brother and his friends' 'little secret' since I was sixteen, and the reason for it since I was seventeen.

I had found Peter in my room one day, going through my drawers, probably on a dare. He hadn't seen me yet, and before I could enter my room properly and shout at him, he'd changed into a rat. I'd caught him and returned him to my brother, forcing him to teach me too. Luckily no one, not even Sirius, knew that I knew, and Peter didn't know what I'd blackmailed my brother into, they only knew I knew about Moony's 'furry little problem'.

I shook my head. _'What should I tell Harry, though?'_

Dear Harry

Are you sure it was a Grim and not just a big dog living in the forest? It wouldn't be the first time. Besides, every book I've ever read says very clearly that you only see it once, and usually fairly close to your death.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, Harry, it's probably nothing.

I hope you're studying, and getting prepared for the exams.

Good luck!

Emma

P.S.: yes, the manor is completely finished, I can't wait to show it to you!

I felt horrible for lying, but what was I supposed to say?

I tied the letter to Hedwig's leg and sent it off, hoping I wouldn't be endangering his life with my lie.

/*/

I found a temporary job at a local bookshop for a few days, just until Harry would come back from Hogwarts. It gave her something to do, and she liked being around books. She even bought a copy of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy to give to Harry.

Because of this, it wasn't until 6 June, coincidentally also the last day of Harry's exams, that I finally found the time to go to Little Winging and rang the doorbell on number 4, Privet Drive. I had just finished my shift at the bookstore, which ended at 3:30, and, after changing, apparated straight to Surrey.

The woman who opened the door was a tall blonde, with a long neck and an angular face. She smiled politely at me. "Can I help you?" but I could tell she wasn't being sincere; I was disturbing her peaceful afternoon.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I believe you can. My name's Emma. You are Petunia Dursley?" I asked, matching her polite tone right to the insincere note in her voice.

"I am."

"Can I come in, then? I have some paperwork for you to sign, and I'd rather not do it in your front yard."

The other woman smiled thinly. "Certainly," she replied, and moved out of the way. We sat down in the living room, and I put my briefcase on the salon table and looked around. The house was spotless.

"Usually Vernon, my husband, does any paperwork," Petunia said, not offering me anything to drink.

"Well, this doesn't concern your husband. Twelve years ago, you got custody over Harry Potter, is that correct?"

Her face blanched. "Who are you?" she breathed, pushing herself deeper into the armchair.

"My name's Emma Potter, and I'd like to take Harry off your hands," I said casually, flicking open the briefcase.

Petunia stared at me, her eyes wide. "I don't understand."

"I'm Harry's dad's little sister, and by magical law, I have a better claim over Harry's guardianship that you do. I know you don't want him, and I know how you treated him, and I won't allow it anymore. Either you sign these papers and give me full custody of my nephew, or I'll steal him from you. Whatever you choose, the outcome will be the same," I reasoned.

"But… but the protection…?" she stammered.

"Will be broken, but Voldemort isn't after you, he's after Harry. And I can assure you that my house is about as safe as any magical place in Britain can be, aside from Hogwarts and Gringotts, perhaps."

Petunia still didn't look convinced. I didn't understand. She didn't love Harry, and hated the fact that he was magic, so why didn't she want to sign.

"Can you assure me that no harm will befall my family?" she asked, but picked up the pen and held it over the document.

"No, but it's highly unlikely. In fact, I believe it's more dangerous to keep Harry than to send him away. You're less of a target that way."

"That man, the headmaster, he said that we'd be safe if we took him in. He never mentioned another family member."

"Yes, that's true, but Dumbledore didn't know I was alive. Sign the papers, Petunia. You'd never have to worry about the neighbours seeing anything, never have to deal with a child that was never yours…"

"He was Lily's…" she whispered. If I hadn't had enhanced hearing because of my animagus form, I wouldn't have heard it, so I chose to ignore it. Petunia signed.

I smiled at her, genuine for the first time. "Thank you. For what it's worth, I'll try to do my best to keep him happy," I said, putting my things back in the briefcase, and preparing to leave.

"Hold on," she said and ran upstairs, leaving me alone in the living room. She returned quickly enough, and shoved an envelope into my hands. "It was Lily's. Now out, I don't want the neighbours to see you," she said, but I suspected it was with less venom than she normally would've used.

I smiled, and allowed her to lead me out the front door, but before I left I turned around. "The thing Lily regretted the most in her life was that she never made things right with you, did you know that?" I asked rhetorically, and stepped out the door, not waiting for a reaction.

Once I turned the corner, I apparated to Hogsmeade and started off toward the castle, conjuring a patronus as I went.

Ironically, it still took the shape of a large dog. Sighing, I set off towards the castle, the shiny dog loping beside.

he sun was already set low over the horizon when I reached the entrance hall. I made my way up to the seventh floor, and got a stray second year to let me in, but when I asked around – I even checked his dorm room – no one had seen him or Ron since the end of the last exam.

Feeling a little worried, I went down and checked the library, the hospital wing and the Great Hall, eventually even venturing outside to the Quidditch pitch, even though all students were supposed to be inside.

When I couldn't find him there, I went back to the castle, hoping Remus might now where my wayward nephew was.

Just as I got there, he was running out of it, seemingly in quite a hurry. He saw me coming, but didn't stop, he just grabbed my arm and dragged me along. "Remus, what-?"

"No time, Harry's in danger!" he just shouted, and then he didn't have to drag me anymore.

/*/

We ran straight out of the castle and onto the school grounds, I had no idea where we were going, so I just followed Remus.

"Why are we here?" I asked, only a little out of breath as we stopped a few feet from the Whomping Willow.

Remus didn't reply, but raised his wand. He levitated a fallen branch to press the willow's sensitive spot, so it would freeze.

Just as I was about to ask again, Remus already replied. "I saw Pettigrew on the map, he was with Ron, Hermione and Harry, and then Sirius showed up. They went down the tunnel."

I nodded and slid down the opening, crawling out of Moony's way so he could enter as well.

"Well, then, let's hurry," I said briskly, and started forward, bent forward so I didn't hit the protruding roots. As we jogged on in silence, I had a chance to think about the consequences of what Remus had just told me. If Peter was still alive, that meant that Sirius hadn't killed him. And if he was innocent of that crime, was there any possibility that he hadn't committed the others either? Peter being alive changed everything, and yet nothing at all. If Peter had faked his own death, why hadn't he come out of hiding once Sirius was in jail? Spending twelve years was a terribly long time to spend as an animal.

I so desperately wanted to believe that he was innocent, that Peter had been the traitor, and not him. I frowned, remembering telling James that I didn't like or trust Peter, once. I had put the thoughts aside because James had protested vehemently, but now they were back in full force.

What would I do if Sirius was innocent? I honestly didn't know, but I'd find out soon enough. We were at the end of the tunnel.

Remus and I made our way up, and suddenly heard a girl shouting: "WE'RE UP HERE? WE'RE UP HERE – SIRIUS BLACK – QUICK!" We ran up the stairs as fast as we could, and Moony got there a second before I did. I took one quick look around the room, saw that Harry was okay, and promptly hugged him, while Remus kept his wand trained on Sirius.

"Thank God, you're alright," I breathed. I took a step back to register the confused look on my nephew's face. I simply shrugged and took a closer look at his friends. Hermione was cowering near the door, her lip bleeding, while Ron was lying on the bed, panting and pale-faced. He clutched his leg and seemed to be in some pain.

Sirius, on the other hand, was lying at Harry's feet, a big bruise starting to form on his left temple and an orange cat draped across his chest, right over his heart. Harry still had his wand trained on the man, and, now that his eyes were no longer on me, they had regained a murderous rage as he stared at Sirius.

"Expelliarmus!" Remus shouted. Harry's wand, along with two others, flew across the room until the professor deftly caught them.

"Where is he Sirius?" Remus asked in a very intense voice. I glanced away from Harry to look at the men. Sirius remained expressionless, but eventually raised his hand and pointed in Ron's direction. Then Remus worked out what I knew the moment we stepped into that room. Sirius was never James and Lily's secret keeper, for some reason, Peter was.

Remus pulled Sirius off the floor and embraced him like a brother. I couldn't help but smile.

"You look like shit," I commented, and stepped forward as Moony released him.

Then, to everyone's shock, I put my hands on either side of Sirius' head and kissed him, full on the lips. I released him and, while he was still in shock, slapped him right across the face.

"Oi! What was that for?" he exclaimed in a rather high-pitched voice.

"The slap was for hitting me in the jaw. The kiss was for being innocent."

Sirius grinned, even if it was just a ghost of his usual mischievous smile.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed. I turned around to face her, prepared to defend myself. "You!" she said, pointing at me. "And you!" Her finger was now directed at Remus.

"Hermione, calm down!" Remus tried, but the girl was almost hysterical.

"I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering up for you!" she shouted, looking at Remus.

"Hermione, listen to me, please! Remus shouted. "I can explain!"

Harry looked at me, betrayal written all over his face. "I trusted you," he whispered, but he might as well have screamed for all the effect it had on me. It broke my heart.

"No, Harry, please listen to me!" I said, stepping closer, and feeling the hurt as he stepped back.

"Don't trust them, Harry, they've been helping Black into the castle, they want you dead too! Lupin's a werewolf!" she shouted. "And Emma just showing up like that when no one's ever told you about her? She's probably a death eater too, just in disguise!"

Silence reigned in the ramshackle room. I glanced at Remus; he usually didn't take people knowing about him very well. I remembered when he found out I knew, he tiptoed around me for weeks!

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said calmly. "Only one out of four, I'm afraid. Neither Emma not I have been helping Sirius get into the castle, we certainly don't want Harry dead, and Emma showing up like that was all her own doing, she is as much a death eater as Albus Dumbledore is… But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

I knew Remus well enough to see the apprehension in his face, the fear of rejection, especially from Harry.

Ron tried to get up, but fell back onto the bed with a grunt of pain. Remus stepped forward, wanting to help, but Ron yelled: "Get away from me, werewolf!"

My jaw actually dropped. _'Did he really just say that?'_ Remus was about to say something, but I held up a hand to stall him.

"Ron, we're just trying to help. Will you allow me to take a look at your leg?" I held up my hands to show that I didn't want to hurt him, my wand pointed at the floor.

The redhead watched me warily, but nodded slowly. I offered him a small smile and knelt by the bed, while Remus asked Hermione how long she'd known.

I tuned out their conversation in favour of concentrating on Ron's leg and arm. Sirius had apparently bitten him in the arm, but the wounds weren't too deep, so a simple spell would stop his bleeding and another conjured bandages. His leg was a little more complicated. It was obviously broken, but I only had a little experience resetting toes and noses. I decided to just numb it a little – Ron sighed in content – and put a splint on it. The boy mumbled a 'thanks', but wouldn't meet my eyes. "You're welcome," I whispered back, and took my place next to Moony again.

"Some of the staff thought so," Remus was saying. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy-"

"And he was wrong!" Harry yelled. "You've been helping him all the time!" He was pointing at Sirius. I felt anger bubble up in me as I saw the effect the youth's words had on the two men. Sirius made his way over to the bed and sank down onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand, while Remus just blanched some more. The werewolf had always had more facial control than his friend.

"Harry James Potter!" I said, careful not to shout, but making sure my voice held authority. "If I or Remus would have wanted to kill you, we could've done it any number of times we were alone with you, and you should really learn to listen. Sirius Black is innocent, Remus Lupin never helped him, he thought he was guilty, remember? You're just like James in some ways, and like Lily for that matter! When they got something in their heads, they were more stubborn than a pair of mules!" I ranted. Harry seemed a little taken aback. "I swear, if James thought he was right about something, it would take some serious reasoning, and usually a slap from Lily or me for him to see he was wrong."

Sirius looked up and cracked a smile, and it made a world of difference in his face. Instead of the gaunt, skeleton-like look he was sporting, he regained some of his handsome elegance for a second. Remus seemed mildly amused, and Harry simply looked confused, and happy to be compared with his parents.

Ron edged away from the bed and went to stand next to his friend. Remus sighed lightly and made another attempt to explain.

"I have _not_ been helping Sirius," he said. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look-" He threw Harry, Ron and Hermione's wand back to their respective owners – all of them looked stunned.

"There," Remus said, sticking his own wand back into his belt. "You are armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

They still looked sceptical, but Remus went ahead and starting to explain everything, starting with why he'd come, while Sirius explained how he'd known Wormtail was at Hogwarts. Apparently, there had been some kind of picture of all the Weasleys in the _Profet_ that he'd seen. Mooney went on with his story, only to be interrupted by Harry as he found out the professor knew how to work the map because he'd written it, along with the other marauders, and that they all knew about the cloak.

Personally, I thought he didn't explain very well, as he kept alluding that he'd seen the trio along with someone else on the map, but they kept insisting no one else was with them.

"An animagus," Sirius eventually said, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

Of course they didn't want to believe any of it, Peter was supposed to be dead. I rolled my eyes at Remus and Sirius' attempt to clarify: they weren't doing such a good job. Even I got confused, and I already knew most of the back story! But I held my tongue, leaving it to the men to shed some light on the matter.

I only said something when Hermione – seriously smart girl, that one, no pun intended – said something about registration for animagi. "I'm an unregistered animagus," I said offhanded.

Five pairs of eyes were on me, and they were all staring.

"You're an animagus? Since when?" Sirius asked, clearly as surprised as everyone else in the room. I had thought James might've broken his promise to me and told his best friends, but it seemed he had been truthful when he said he wouldn't tell a soul.

"Since I was sixteen, I caught Peter in my room and made James teach me."

Remus guffawed. "And he never told us? _You_ never told us?"

I grinned. "To be perfectly honest, I thought James would break his promise and tell you. And I thought it was just really fun to know something you didn't. James and I went out by ourselves sometimes: I kept the bigger predators away from him."

"What do you turn into? And my father?" Harry quickly asked, but Hermione cut him off.

"That's still really dangerous! Learning from a self-taught student? And running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

Remus told them that thought still made him uneasy, and that he felt guilty for having betrayed Dumbledore's trust.

"Be fair, Moony," I said. "There's not a lot that goes on under Dumbledore's nose that he doesn't know about, or at least not for long. I'm sure he knew." Aside from trying to be reassuring, I actually thought that Dumbledore might've at least suspected it.

"Never realized who the traitor under his nose was, did he?" Remus sounded bitter, and who could blame him? James and Lily, however reluctantly, had suspected he could've been the traitor.

"I knew," I said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder.

He frowned at me. "How could you possibly have known? None of us did!"

"I didn't mean that I _knew_, but I suspected. I'd always felt uncomfortable around Peter, but I thought it was just because he was a rat, and I'm a cat."

"You're a cat?" Sirius asked.

"A lynx, more specifically, but that's not important. I told James of my suspicions, but he laughed them off. And who wouldn't have? Peter wasn't strong or brave or even very good with a wand, nobody suspected him. So I wrote it off as just a weird feeling, and I left it that way until Remus told me he'd seen him on the map. I knew Sirius and Peter must've swapped and that he must be innocent," I explained.

Sirius offered me the tiniest to smiles, and I took it, before he returned his gaze to the rat in Ron's hands.

"So why did you never tell Dumbledore about Black, then, if you thought he was guilty?" Hermione questioned.

Remus told her it was because he was afraid of admitting that he'd betrayed the headmaster's trust. He also told them the full extent of the prank, though I'd explained most of it to Harry in Snape's office. And that's how Sirius found out said git was teaching at Hogwarts.

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry said slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Remus. Severus Snape was pulling off the invisibility cloak, his wand pointing directly at his colleague.

**A/N: Review!**

**Quick disclaimer: A lot of this was directly copied from the book, and I don't own any of it, I only own Emma and the extra subplot I added.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So here's the new chapter. Thanks to all my lovely reviewers!**

Chapter 9

Hermione screamed, Sirius leapt back to his feet, and Harry looked simply shocked.

I didn't listen to Snape as he spouted off half-mad gibberish about Sirius and Remus, in favour of keeping my eyes on Pettigrew, who had subsided a little now that the potion's master was there. I'd been trying to keep calm all through this conversation, but I could understand Sirius' impatience. That man had ensured my brother and sister-in law's deaths. He was the reason my world collapsed twelve years ago, and he was going to _pay_.

I vaguely heard Hermione trying to reason with the raging professor, but he just screamed in her face like a mad man.

And then Harry stepped in front of the professor. He also tried reasoning first, but quickly jumped to shouting, and humiliating the man. Bad move. Snape yelled back, and then Harry proved that he was sorted into the right House as he disarmed the professor. Unfortunately for Snape, he did it at the same time as Ron and Hermione. Snape was lifted off his feet, and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He'd been knocked out.

"Nice shot," I commented as Snape's wand landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," Sirius said, his eyes on his godson. "You should've left him to me."

Hermione was freaking out in another corner of the room. "Cheer up, Hermione, chances are he's not going to be able to remember all this, and if he did, I'll tell him I did it. He already hates me anyway."

She looked at me in disbelief, as if she couldn't fathom anyone not caring what a professor thought of them. Even though I was 29, and he'd never been my professor, and I'd never liked him in the first place. But there was also a little hope in her eyes. She was just a thirteen year old girl, after all, even if she was a bit of an overachiever.

And then Remus was trying to explain to Ron that his rat was, in fact, an animagus. And seriously, neither him, nor Sirius were doing a very good job of reassuring those kids, nor were they doing a very good job of explaining.

I rolled my eyes and decided I'd explain it myself. "Ron, your rat's a human in disguise, by the name of Peter Pettigrew. Harry, he was the one who betrayed your parents, because Sirius thought he'd be the obvious target for Voldemort," I ignored the shudder, "so they switched, and Pettigrew became the secret keeper. And we can prove it, if you just let us put a spell on the rat. If it's a normal rat it won't hurt him," I explained.

Maybe it was because I gave them a summary, or maybe it was just because I said it and not Sirius or Remus, but the trio fell silent and exchanged looks.

Harry looked at me then. "Harry, I swear I'd never do anything to hurt you," I whispered, hoping he could hear the sincerity in my voice.

He still looked a little wary of me. "What if you're not who you say you are?"

I smiled; this was something I could prove easily. "That's a valid question. Do you know anything about relations spells?"

Before Harry could respond, Hermione had already stepped forward and started explaining. "They're spells that can show the family bonds between different people. Red means immediate family, the colder the colour gets, the further the relation. Black means no relation whatsoever," she recited, clearly having memorised it.

I nodded and smiled anyway. "Yes. Harry, I'll need your hand." He held it out, and I took it in my left, so I could still cast the right. An orangey-red hue appeared around our joint hands. I smiled.

"Does that satisfy you?" I asked.

Harry looked at his friend. Hermione frowned. "I've never heard of them being tampered with before, and the tint suggests she's not immediate family, but still very close, like a cousin or an aunt…" she said, her eyes still on our hands.

Harry nodded and released my hand. "Fine. Ron?" he said, looking at the other boy. Ron reluctantly handed his struggling rat over to me. It clawed, and fought and tried with all it's might to get away, and I bared my teeth at it, not able to suppress the reaction. I held it tightly by the scruff of its neck while Remus and Sirius – now holding Snape's wand – got ready to reveal the coward for what he really was.

"Together?" Sirius said quietly, his eyes never leaving Wormtail.

"I think so," Remus said. "On the count of three. One… Two… THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands, while I let go. For a moment, the rat hung suspended in mid-air, his small, grey from twisting madly as he fought the spell. But eventually, he lost.

More slowly than usual, the rat grew into a shadow of the man I had once known. He seemed to have lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time, giving him a gaunt look, and he had a bald patch on the top of his head. His skin also looked unhealthy, but aside from that and his obvious older age, he looked much the same as he had all those years ago. He still looked like a coward, and a traitor.

…And the dance began. Peter kept insisting that he had only been hiding from Sirius (and Hermione suggested that he could've killed Harry at any time in the past 3 years, but Remus countered that Peter only ever did something if he had something to gain from it), despite the obvious evidence against that, and, when he couldn't convince any of the adults in the room, he turned to the children. First, he turned to Ron, who was disgusted ("I let you sleep in my _bed_!"), then to Hermione, who simply looked horrified, and tried to ignore him. And last, of course, he turned to Harry, at which point both Sirius and I shouted. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" we shouted. I blushed, and kept my mouth shut after that, but Sirius just continued; I didn't think he had heard me. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?" I silently agreed.

Pettigrew continued to appeal to Harry's sense of justice, while Sirius kept interrupting him with shouted insults, going so far as to say Pettigrew should have died before divulging information about Lily and James.

Remus and Sirius almost killed the man, but Harry intervened, insisting the rat should be brought back to Hogwarts so Sirius would be free. Harry, Ron and even Hermione finally seemed to have been convinced, as we agreed to take Pettigrew back up to the castle. Sirius levitated Snape, and Ron and Remus agreed to be chained to Pettigrew.

Crookshanks led the way, followed by Remus, Pettigrew and Ron. Next came Snape, drifting creepily along, followed by Sirius, Harry and Hermione. I brought up the rear.

While we went through the tunnel, Sirius started talking to Harry. "You know what this means?" he asked, and I knew immediately what he was talking about, but he probably didn't know I was now Harry's sole guardian.

"you're free," Harry replied.

"Yes…," Sirius started, but I interrupted him.

"Speaking of freedom, Harry, the reason I came up to the castle was to tell you I got your aunt to sign over your custody to me. Unfortunately, you'll have to deal with both Sirius and I when he's declared innocent again. We were both your godparents, and Lily wanted us to have shared custody," I explained over Hermione's head.

"Really?" Harry said, excitement clearly audible in his voice. "But who would I live with?"

"Me. Sirius, I'm sorry to say that the ministry claimed your house as state property after you were arrested, but there's plenty of room in the manor, you're welcome to stay in your old room."

A silent "Thanks." drifted over to me, but I could tell that he was a little disappointed. He'd probably been hoping that he could have Harry to himself, but he was in no condition to be taking care of a teenage boy as well as himself right now.

We climbed out of the tunnel in silence and started trudging towards the castle. But a shift in the clouds made Remus freeze. I followed his gaze toward the moon and remembered that Snape had said something about Remus forgetting to take his potion.

"Oh, my! He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!" Hermione gasped.

"Run," Sirius whispered, and I realized with some indignation that he meant me as well. "Run. Now."

I wasn't planning on moving, and Harry and Hermione didn't seem to want to go away either. Harry took a step towards Ron, who, I realized, was still chained to Pettigrew and Remus.

"Leave it to me! Run!" I said, pulling out my wand and placing a well-aimed _diffindo_ at the manacle on Remus' shaking hand.

Sirius changed faster than the eye could see and bounded onto the now fully changed werewolf. I turned around to Harry and Hermione, urging them again to run, but the girl's scream alerted me to what was going on behind me. Pettigrew was trying to escape.

He had knocked Ron unconscious, and had used the same spell on Crookshanks, after which he'd turned into a rat and scurried off.

"Oh, no you don't!" I muttered and changed into my lynx form. With all the commotion going on around me, and the fact that I hadn't changed in over three months, made it a little difficult to track the rat at first, but I quickly found his trail, and bounded after him. He stayed ahead of me, though, and eventually dived into a hole in the ground, and no matter how much I clawed at him, I couldn't reach him. Then I heard Harry's voice shouting "Sirius!" and halted my hunt abruptly. I turned my head in the direction I'd come from, but couldn't see too far, even with my cat eyes.

I looked back at the hole and scowled. If it was a choice between saving my friends and catching the rat… I ran off back towards where I'd left Harry, but as I came closer, I smelled Snape, and it wasn't the scent of someone unconscious. I quickly changed back, and ran forwards. I found Snape with Ron on a stretcher beside him, making his way over to the lake. "Miss Potter, still alive, I see," he sneered, real hatred in his voice. Yup, he thought I'd knocked him out.

"Where's Harry?" I asked ignoring his jibe. He pointed, a nasty smirk on his face, and I followed his finger. Hundreds of dementors were hovering over the lake, but I couldn't really see anyone. Then, suddenly an almost blinding white light, emitted by a patronus, chased them all away. As the light dimmed, and Snape I hurried over, I could tell it was a huge stag, and I knew immediately whose patronus that was. By the time we got there, Harry and Sirius were unconscious on the lake's bank, and my heart skipped a beat. What if that patronus had been too late?

I used a diagnostic spell on Harry first, while Snape bound Sirius tightly and reclaimed his wand. I sighed in relief as the spell indicated Harry was just exhausted and a little dehydrated.

"How did you conjure the stretcher?" I asked, indicating the one Ron was lying on.

"Weasley's wand," he replied curtly, without looking at me, and conjured three more, levitating Harry, Hermione, and the bound and gagged Sirius on them.

I turned around and whispered: "Accio Remus' wand," while cursing myself for not thinking about using that spell on Pettigrew. I tried it, but apparently, he was out of range.

I turned to Sirius and performed the same spell on him as I'd done on Harry. He was far worse off, having lost a considerable amount of blood, undergone severe starvation and dehydration, as well as a poorly healed fractured bone. I thought it could be reset, though.

Snape stared at me intently, probably waiting for me to demand Sirius be let go, or for me to try to curse him, but I was smarter than that. There was no way I could ever outfight Severus Snape in a duel, and I wasn't stupid enough to try to convince him of the truth, he'd never believe it, and if he did, he'd still try to turn Sirius in, just for the fun of it.

"Shall we?" I asked, keeping my eyes on Harry. I was hoping he'd think the worry in my eyes was for my young ward, instead of for the escaped convict floating next to the potions master.

**A/N: Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the response I've been getting! I hope you'll enjoy this 'cause we're only 1 chapter removed from the end now! By the way; I need a title for the sequel to this, any suggestions?**

**hpfanfromholland: You're from the Netherlands? That's awesome, I'm from Belgium, and I'm glad you liked it!  
**

Chapter 10

We went to the castle, and were quickly met by Dumbledore, McGonagall and the rest of the core staff. Snape soon spun his tale – he even tried to take credit for chasing off the dementors, but I corrected him, telling everyone that Harry had cast that spell and had passed out from exertion. Snape knew better than to try to argue, I'd just show everyone the memory.

Dumbledore stared hard at me, his usual twinkle gone from his eyes. I hoped he was using legilimency, because I was thinking _'Sirius is innocent, Sirius is innocent, Pettigrew is alive, Sirius is innocent!'_ very hard. I could've imagined it, but I would've sworn I saw Dumbledore nod, almost imperceptibly.

I followed my nephew and his friends to the hospital wing, forcing myself not to look as they took Sirius up the stairs to lock him up somewhere. The Minister of magic showed up soon, and Snape retold his story, this time leaving out the dementor part altogether. Unfortunately for him, I picked up the story where he left off, making it seem like we were both just telling the same story. Fudge was a little sceptical that a third year could have performed that spell, until I told him about the private lessons he'd been receiving, and that I'd told him some very good news just a few minutes before, making it seem like just luck.

"Order of Merlin, second class, I'd say. First class if I can wangle it! And definitely third class to you, Miss Potter!"

"Thank you, Minister," we both said, though Snape seemed a tad angry that I got some recognition as well.

I returned to Harry's bed, shielding him from Snape and Fudge's view. I saw his eyes twitch, and immediately realized he must be awake. "Hi, Harry," I whispered, as inaudible as I could make it. I squeezed his hand gently and felt him squeeze back.

Snape was telling Fudge about how stupid Harry had been, and that he should be expelled. I just had to intervene.

"Excuse me, Minister," I said, getting back up and joining their conversation. "I believe professor Snape is making a mistake. I tracked down Harry by using a locator spell I'd put on him a little before Easter, and found them with Black. I managed to ask Harry why they were there. It seemed they had snuck out to visit their friend, Hagrid, to support him, but left before the committee got there. Black caught them on the way back to the castle, when Ron Weasley's rat escaped from his pocket. Highly irresponsible, but Harry would never go looking for someone who wanted to kill him."

Snape was slowly turning red, and if looks could kill, his glare would've had me twitching on the ground the moment I opened my mouth. Fudge, however, seemed to think this was far more likely a scenario for the much-beloved Boy-Who-Lived.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, Miss Potter, if you insist on talking this to death I'll need you to step outside," Madam Pomfrey whispered, walking up to our small group. "My patients need rest!" she insisted.

"Of course, of course," the Minister muttered and made his way outside, followed closely by Snape, but I stayed where I was.

"Can I stay with Harry? I promise I'll be quiet. I'm just worried," I said.

She looked me up and down, assessing me, but nodded curtly eventually. I smiled at her, and went to sit down next to Harry's bed, who was still pretending to be asleep. Madam Pomfrey went over to Ron's bed and looked over his injuries again.

Harry opened his eyes a crack, but they were unfocussed, so I put his glasses on his nose. "Better?" I whispered, leaning over him so Poppy wouldn't see that he was awake yet. Harry looked over to Hermione to see that she was wide awake as well, she looked at me and pointed at the door, which was still open.

I quickly got up and closed the door as quietly as I could, and hurried back. Madam Pomfrey looked over, saw that the teens were awake, and disappeared into her office. She came back with the biggest block of chocolate I'd ever seen, and my addiction kicked in, making my mouth water.

"How's Ron?" Harry and Hermione said together, as Madam Pomfrey started breaking off pieces from the block with a hammer.

"He'll live. As for you two… you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're– Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

Harry was sitting up and had grabbed his wand. "I need to see the headmaster," he said urgently.

Poppy's expression softened. "Potter, it's alright. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now–"

"WHAT?" Harry pushed off my hand and jumped off the bed, while Hermione did the same. But his shout had been heard through the doors, and Fudge and Snape hastened in.

"Harry, Harry, what is this?" Fudge asked, looking agitated. "You should be in bed – has he had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey.

Before Harry could say anything I poked him in the side, hard. "I'm working on it!" I hissed in his ear, pretending to give him a hug.

"He's just a little confused, Minister, and he hasn't had any chocolate. Poppy and I will see to it that he gets some," I said, hoping Harry would get the hint.

My nephew however, must've hit his head when he passed out on the shore of the lake, because he opened his mouth again. I stuffed some chocolate in there and pushed him back onto the bed.

Snape glared at me, clearly not convinced. He seemed about to say something at my challenging look, when Dumbledore walked in.

"Headmaster, I insist that you remove these people from the infirmary, they are exciting my patients!" Madam Pomfrey said.

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Of course, Poppy, but I must speak with Mr Potter and Miss Granger. Cornelius, Severus, Poppy, please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest!"

"I'm afraid this cannot wait," he replied, giving her a look. She pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large golden pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"The dementors should be arriving any moment now, I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll meet you upstairs." He crossed to the door and held it open fro Snape, only to realize the other man hadn't moved.

"What about her?" he asked, indicating me. I held my tongue, knowing better than to loose time by arguing with the professor.

"She's Mr Potter's legal guardian. I would've asked for Miss Granger's as well, but as they muggles, they cannot enter Hogwarts unless in an emergency. Now if you please, Severus."

Still, the potions master didn't move. "They are confounded, professor, talking to them now will make no difference."

I pinched Harry when he seemed likely to open his mouth again.

"They insist there is a chance Black is innocent! Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he went on. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill _me_?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry and Hermione. They both burst into speech at the same time, while I sat down on the bed next to Harry.

But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations. He went on to list all the reasons why no one would believe them, but I saw the twinkle in his eye, and knew that he had a plan.

"_But you believe us_," Harry said, despair heavy in his voice.

"Yes, I do," the headmaster replied quietly. "But I have no power to make others see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic… What we need-" he looked from Harry to Hermione, "is more _time_."

"But… OH!" Hermione said, clearly understanding what he was talking about, even if Harry and I didn't.

"Now, pay attention. Sirius is locked in professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor., thirteenth window from the right of the West tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: _you must not be seen_. Miss Granger, you know the law, you know what's a stake… _you – must – not – be – seen_!" he impressed on them. I frowned, how could they make a difference now? And why would the location of the _window_? Unless…

Dumbledore had turned on his heel, but looked back as he reached the door.

"I am going to lock you in. It is-" He consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind the headmaster. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"

But Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain.

"A timeturner, of course!" I said, jumping off the bed to have a closer look.

"A what?" Harry asked.

"A timeturner, it allows the wearer to go back in time for a short amount of time. One turn is one hour. I'm assuming this is how you got to all those classes Harry told me about?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. It must've cost her months of persuasion to get the ministry to give a thirteen-year-old that dangerous a device.

She blushed. "Yes, I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. It'll be a tight fit to get this around everyone, though…"

I held up my hand. "I can't come with you, I'd just draw attention. I think Dumbledore meant that this is something you have to do by yourselves." I pulled Harry close in an embrace. It was amazing how much I cared about him, after only knowing him for a few months. "Good luck, and be careful. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," I joked.

Harry nodded, while Hermione put the chain around both of their necks. "See you in a second," I said, and then they were gone.

'_One – Norwegian Ridgeback – Two – Norwegian Ridgeback – Three–'_ I counted to myself, until the doors opened again and the two teens ran through them.

I smiled as they walked towards them. "Well, at least I didn't have to wait long…" I said with a grin. "How did it go?" I asked, enveloping Harry in a hug, and putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

Harry beamed. "Two innocent lives saved, just as Dumbledore said. Sirius is safely on his way, along with Buckbeak," he said once I'd released me.

He stopped talking, and not a moment to soon, because right at that moment Madam Pomfrey walked in. "Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

Harry and Hermione wisely accepted the chocolate she offered them in silence, but they seemed entirely too tense.

I sat with them in silence, talking enough for the three of us. I told them about how James used to play pranks, both on me and on some of our neighbours. I mentioned Lily next, how she had 'adopted' me as a little sister, and would confide in me, and help me get back at James if he tried to prank me. But that was as far as I got, as we heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them…

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey said in alarm.

Now we could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam Pomfrey and I were staring at the door. "Really – they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?" she said.

Finally, we could understand what they were shouting.

"He must've disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out-"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close to the hospital wing. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE _OR_ DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS. HAS. SOMETHING. TO. DO. WITH. POTTER!"

"Severus – be reasonable – Harry has been locked up-"

BAM! The door of the hospital wing burst open. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore looked his usual serene self, but the twinkle in his eyes betrayed his amusement at the situation. Fudge looked angry, but Snape was beside himself, to the point of getting red in the face.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Before Madam Pomfrey could intervene, I had stepped in between the enraged professor and my nephew, my only instinct to protect him. I pulled back my arm, and before I knew it, my fist connected with his face. Snape lost his balance and fell backwards, unconscious.

The first thing I noticed was shock at what I'd done. The next was pain in my hand. I let out a long string of curses, clutching my hand close.

"Miss Potter! The last time I heard such language, your brother was in here with a broken arm after a Quidditch match!" Madam Pomfrey chastised, pulling my arm to her. She only gave it a brief look before touching her wand to it. "Just bruised," she said, before moving to look at the rapidly forming bruise on his temple.

Harry and Hermione – and Fudge for that matter – were openly staring at me, open-mouthed. The corner of Dumbledore's lips twitched, and the twinkling in his eyes reached epic levels.

"Oops?" I said.

"Madam Pomfrey, are you sure you can't leave that there?" Harry asked, grinning far too much.

"Harry!" I scolded. "I didn't mean to hit him!"

"But it was still bloody brilliant! Ron's going to be so disappointed he missed it!" he said, his smile reaching from ear to ear.

"Harry James Potter! Just because it was funny, doesn't mean you get to torture your friend over it!" I said. Not much of an admonishment, but I couldn't really blame him for laughing when that was all I wanted to do, and only the presence of the Minister kept me serious.

"We'll write this off as mother's instinct then?" Dumbledore suggested, smiling at me. "I believe Severus will be very disappointed in the morning."

"He's not the only one who's been disappointment! The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well… I'd better go and notify the ministry…"

"And the dementors?" asked Dumbledore. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, they'll have to go," Fudge said. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy… Completely out of control… no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight…" The Minister and Dumbledore kept talking as the elder of the two led the other out of the hospital wing.

A low moan came from the other side of the ward, and Ron lifted his head.

"Wh- what happened?" he groaned. "Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

Harry, Hermione and me shared a look.

"You explain," Harry and I said at the same time, looking at the girl. I grabbed a piece of chocolate, broke it in two, and offered the other piece to Harry.

Life would sort itself out, it always did.

**A/N: What did you think of Emma's maternal instincts?**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Final chapter! I can't believe it! I'll be posting the first chapter of the sequel soon! It will be called Living with Emma.  
**

Chapter 11

I stayed in the castle overnight, in one of the guest suites that time, since Remus was a little preoccupied with howling at the moon. I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in, and when I finally emerged from my room, I was invited to have breakfast in the headmaster's office, even though it was almost noon.

He had quite the interesting proposal for me, and I gladly accepted.

"Thank you for breakfast, professor," I said, on my way to the door of his office.

"Please, Albus,"

"Than it's Emma to you," I replied with a smile.

I left soon after that and made my way downstairs. Harry said that they didn't want to go to Hogsmeade, so I assumed he would be on the grounds, but I met him only one floor down, looking as if he'd run a marathon.

"What's going on?"

"It's Lupin…" he gasped. "He… has… resigned!"

"What?! Why?" I asked. And why hadn't Dumbledore told me? I'd just been in his office.

"Don't know, I'm on my way up to his office."

We ran together, and found the door to his office open. His suitcase was mostly packed, and his office cleaned up. He was bent over his desk. "Hello, Harry, Emma," he said, only turning around after he'd said that, revealing what he had been looking at: the Marauder's Map. He smiled. "I saw you coming."

"I just saw Hagrid," Harry said, "and he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?"

Remus sighed and started opening his desk drawers, taking out the contents. "I'm afraid it is."

"But _why_?" Harry asked. I let him do the talking right now, I just levelled Moony with my patented I-am-disappointed-in-you glare.

Remus told Harry that Snape had told everyone he was a werewolf. Harry protested, but Remus explained that parents would be protesting.

"You're the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had, the older students agree! Don't go!" Harry pleaded.

That boy had some serious puppy dog eyes, and even I was melting. Remus turned back around and continued to empty his drawers, probably so he wouldn't have to look in those green eyes and say 'no'.

I realized that nothing I would say would change his mind, so I kept my silence. Let the boy plead, it might help.

Before Harry could think of another argument, however, Remus spoke. "From what the headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night, Harry. If I'm proud of anything I've done this year, it's how much you've learned… Tell me about your Patronus."

Harry did as he was bid, and told the entire story, causing Remus to smile.

"Yes, your father was a stag when he transformed. You guessed right, that's why we called him Prongs," he said as he threw the last few books into his case, closed the desk drawers, and turned to look at Harry and I.

"Here," he said, and handed Harry his invisibility cloak back, along with the map. "I'm sure you and your friends will find a use for these."

"You had better be using those for pranks only, Harry, no more sneaking out of the school, unless it is an absolute emergency, as in life and death, understand?" I said, raising my eyebrows, and putting my hands on my hips.

He grinned. "Yes, ma'am!"

I caught Remus' eye and winked. He smiled at me.

There was a knock on the door, and Harry hastily stuffed his newly reclaimed items into his pocket. It was professor Dumbledore, and he didn't look at all surprised at seeing me and Harry here.

He told Remus his carriage was at the gate and said goodbye. Before he could leave, though, I pulled him into a tight hug and made him promise to visit. Harry shook his hand.

After he'd left, Harry stared at the empty desk chair.

"Why so miserable, Harry? You should be very proud of yourself after last night," Dumbledore said, perceptive as always.

"It didn't make any difference, Pettigrew got away," he said bitterly.

"Didn't make any difference?" I asked incredulously. "Harry, one of the first things you said to me when you entered the Hospital Wing was 'two innocent lives saved', doesn't that count for anything? Or what about uncovering the truth? You have no idea how happy Remus and I were when we realized it hadn't been James' best friend who had betrayed them. Even when we thought he was the traitor we kept some of his secrets, and I was never able to think of him as a murderer. It took a load off our shoulders we didn't even knew we were carrying. And I'm sure Sirius' life will be more bearable knowing that at least the people most dear to him know he's innocent," I said passionately, unable to keep silent.

"Your aunt is quite right, Harry, you saved an innocent man from a terrible fate," Dumbledore said, backing me up.

Harry frowned, as if something had just come to his mind. He told us about a prediction professor Trelawny had made the day before, and went on to blame himself in advance for Voldemort's inevitable rise.

I left it to the headmaster to convince him of the opposite, but paid close attention when he said that there was now a bond between Harry and Pettigrew. The teen had saved the rat's life, and the latter now owed Harry a life.

"James would have done the same, Harry. Contrary to what Snape might think, your father was a very generous man, and he loved deeply, once he grew out of his hormonal teenager stage. He would've been so proud of you."

Harry stared at his hands. "I thought it was my dad who'd conjured my Patronus. I mean, when I saw myself across the lake… I thought I was seeing him."

"An easy mistake to make. I expect you'll tire of hearing it, but you do look extraordinarily like James. Except for the eyes… you have your mother's eyes."

Harry shook his head. "It was stupid, thinking it was him. I mean, I knew he was dead."

I put an arm around his shoulders, but didn't say anything; I would've probably thought the same, even if it was just wishful thinking.

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him. How else could you produce that _particular_ Patronus? Prongs rode again last night."

I looked at him sharply, he shouldn't have known that… It took Harry a second longer, probably because he wasn't used to thinking of his father by that name.

"Last night Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi," Dumbledore said, smiling. I tensed up, but his eyes never flickered to me, even for a second, Sirius must've left out that little detail about me. "An extraordinary achievement – not least, keeping it quiet from me. And then I remembered the most unusual form your Patronus took, when it charged Mr. Malfoy down at your Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. You know, Harry, in a way, you did see your father last night… You found him inside yourself."

And then the headmaster left, leaving me to actually comfort my young nephew.

/*/

In the next few days leading up to the end of term – Dumbledore had offered to let me stay and then floo home before the students left on the train – more people came up to me than I had ever experienced. They all seemed to think Remus and I were 'together'. I set them straight as soon as possible. Then, they asked me to give him all sorts of messages. "Tell professor Lupin we'll miss him!" "Tell him to expect a letter, we'll make sure the next professor won't stay a week!" "Tell him I really loved his lessons." "…"

I eventually got so sick of it, I conjured a huge card with 'Thank you' on the front, and told the students to write their messages on there. It didn't do much to help their questions about him, though. They wanted to know the weirdest things, most of which I declined to answer. There was lots of speculation on next year's teacher as well, some of them even asked if I was going to try it. I could honestly say that I would not be taking the Defence position.

I could tell Harry was a little troubled, even though he tried to hide it. I tried not to smother him too much, so I spent a lot of time getting to know the students, and was especially interested in my new ward's behaviour in class. Most of his teachers thought he was a bright young man, with a lot of potential, if a little lazy with his homework sometimes. Some of his professors out-and-out said they liked him: Hagrid, McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout especially.

I eventually tried to cheer him up by pointing out that he'd never have to return to his muggle relatives again, and promising he could have his friends over, as well as going to visit the Weasleys some time. Hermione would be vacationing in France for the entire first month with her parents.

His spirits were lifted even more as he realized Gryffindor had won the House Cup, as well as the Quidditch Cup, which meant that the end of term feast took place amid decorations of scarlet and gold, and that the Gryffindor table was the noisiest of the lot. I sat at the High Table, at Remus' regular spot, and having a cheerful conversation with Flitwick.

'_Life's pretty good,'_ I thought, as I saw Harry laughing along with his friends, and I could've sworn I saw him place a bet with the Weasley twins. He'd be alright, I decided, and turned back to my conversation.

THE END… for now…

**A/N: So this is the end for now, please tell me what you think!  
**

**First chapter of Living with Emma is updated, so go R&R that too! ^^  
**


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